Morneau’s first budget should spell out stimulus package for Canada’s faltering economy
TORONTO—Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s first budget should spell out the stimulus package for Canada’s faltering economy—including implementation of the promised surge in infrastructure spending. This is all to the good. However, there are two huge gaps in the Liberal platform and we may not hear much about them, aside from big promises for the future. […]
Budget to dominate House, ministers to testify at committees
The House is back this week after a one-week break and it’s one of the most important weeks of the year in Ottawa. Finance Minister Bill Morneau (Toronto Centre, Ont.) will release the new Liberal government’s first budget on Tuesday, March 22, and the budget will dominate the House for most of the week, but there is […]
What difference does a budget make?
Boring documents that change the course of history: That’s as good a definition as any for federal budgets. I remember sitting in front of a typewriter—yes, a typewriter—on Dec. 11, 1979, when they handed out Progressive Conservative finance minister John Crosbie’s budget. The proposed 18-cent-a-gallon excise tax on gasoline, meant as a get-tough measure to […]
Federal lobbying activity heats up, reflects Liberals’ friendlier stance with consultant lobbyists
Federal lobbying activity exploded in February, with the federal lobbyists’ registry showing there were 112 per cent more communications reports filed than the same month a year earlier. As well, when comparing February’s activity with one month earlier, the 2,927 communications reports marked a 185 per cent gain from January. “You’ve got a combination of […]
The Liberal government’s fiscal capacity problem
When the Liberals came up with a tax plan for their 2015 election platform, the great shrinkage of the federal government’s fiscal capacity after nearly a decade of Stephen Harper at the helm was well-established. The Department of Finance had already published the details—and the trend line didn’t bode well if you wanted to develop […]
Energy, Environment and Climate Change Pre-Budget Consultation Recommendations:
Energy Oil and Gas The government should defend and promote Canada’s oil and gas industry. The 2012 changes to the role of the National Energy Board should be reversed, the board should modernize. Ensure the National Energy Board’s composition reflects regional views and has sufficient expertise and particularly greater indigenous representation. A complete phase-out of the […]
Ailing Grit MP Bélanger gets turn in House Speaker’s chair, MPs cry
Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger got the chance last week to temporarily do the job he wanted before dropping out of the running last year after learning he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigh’s disease. His House colleagues gave him the chance to be acting Speaker for about 30 minutes on Wednesday […]
Canada needs growth strategy to seize digital economy
TORONTO—Finance Minister Bill Morneau has promised to deliver, before the end of the year, “a robust growth strategy” for “strong and sustainable growth.” It’s a big promise. If he succeeds, he will fill the glaring gap in the federal Liberal Party platform which had little to offer on innovation and long-term growth. Yet, without more innovation […]
Funds key to clinching Conservative leadership
MONTREAL—It is a political rule of thumb that defeated incumbents tend to drown their sorrows in money and it turns out the federal Conservatives are no exception. At $5-million, the spending limit imposed on each of the candidates who will vie to replace Stephen Harper between now and next spring is more than five times […]
This year’s budget theatre will be a great show
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Not to raise anybody’s hopes or anything, but I expect the soon-to-be unveiled federal budget will be a catalyst for some extremely entertaining theatre. And that’s kind of ironic since the federal budget itself, with all its mumbo jumbo about marginal tax rates and current account balance and debt-to-GDP ratio (or is it GDP-to-debt […]
