Pause in interest rate hikes offers no ‘breather’ to Liberals politically, says pollster
The Conservative and NDP finance critics say the ‘relentless interest hikes’ and rising mortgage rates are creating ‘hardship’ for Canadians, and urge the government to look to other avenues to fight inflation.
Will Justin Trudeau stop the biggest beer tax increase on Canadians in 40 years?
The excise tax ‘escalator’ is badly flawed policy, and there are many valid reasons to defer further scheduled tax increases until inflation returns to more normal levels.
Health-care resourcing is failing Canada’s most vulnerable children
The pandemic exposed the fragility of Canada’s health-care system and removed access to necessary supports for thousands of Canadian families.
It’s on all of us to curb anti-democratic trends
Programs and initiatives that are context-dependent, local, and plentiful provide alternatives to the digital divide and our growing polarization through action and collective power.
Why Freeland’s next budget has to be an honest one
This cannot be another lost opportunity, because Canada can’t really afford that. Our future is at stake.
Climate group urges Freeland to adopt ‘low-hanging fruit’ policies in budget’s response to U.S. Inflation Reduction Act
If the government heeds calls in this budget to rein in overall spending, Ottawa will still need to make targeted investments, several former political staffers and economists recently told
Feds seek parliamentary approval for $198.1-billion in budgetary spending for next fiscal year
The main estimates for 2023-24 detail $432.9-billion in planned spending, although Budget 2023 will introduce further cash commitments for the fiscal year.
Canada Innovation Corporation’s been a long time coming, but there’s ample room for skepticism
The CIC may bring some small economic improvement. But we need a much better picture of what the future needs than Ottawa is currently offering, or maybe even capable of offering, for real success.
Government seeks $10.3-billion in extra spending to close out the fiscal year
If approved before March 31, the government’s final spending update for 2022-23 would bring total budgetary spending for the year to $443.3-billion, a 7.1 per cent increase over the previous year.
Freeland must ‘say no a lot’: strategic spending needed to craft ‘challenging’ budget, say former finance officials
The finance minister needs to have ‘some difficult conversations’ with her colleagues that will likely require strong ‘internal messaging’ and good ‘caucus management,’ says Liberal strategist Elliot Hughes.
