View of Canada’s approach to defence spending needs a wider lens
John Ivison, a columnist for the National Post, is dangerously wrong when he asserts that Canada “should increase, not reduce” military spending in next week’s budget to counter new threats in the world. His April 13 column made the case that, because Iran is reactivating its nuclear program, Russia is gathering forces on the Ukraine […]
Are Canadians ready for the more just, green future Freeland will frame in next week’s budget?
OTTAWA—No one would have wished the COVID-19 epidemic on any country, and Canadians have paid a heavy price, in terms of illness, lives lost, postponed opportunities, and many other sacrifices during the pandemic. But crises open the way for change, and it’s possible Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget next week will mark an opportunity to […]
This just in: IMF advocates for more active government in post-pandemic world
TORONTO—Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, in preparing her first budget, would be well-served by reading the latest advice coming out of the International Monetary Fund. The global agency, once noted for its dogmatic—and at times destructive–unbridled free market ideology, is now an advocate of more active government and is making clear the connections between social policy, […]
Budget 2021 is Canada’s chance to align spending with bold ambition on climate
On April 19, the federal government will unveil Budget 2021. Given the state of the economy in the wake of COVID-19, this will be a historic moment, revealing how Canada plans to finance the myriad components of its recovery while also confronting the defining crisis of our time: climate change. With up to $100-billion promised […]
Budget watchdog says economic outlook ‘significantly’ improved, but feds’ stimulus plan may be off the mark
Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux predicts the economy could rebound to pre-pandemic levels without the feds’ proposed stimulus package, which could run up to $100-billion, according to a report released Wednesday. That money, first teased in the feds’ fall economic statement, is expected to be fleshed out in the April 19 budget. Without details on […]
April 19: next act in the politics of the pandemic
OTTAWA—Everything at the national political level seems obscured now by COVID-19, which belatedly registered here a little over a year ago with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s call for Canadians outside the country to come home because of the health emergency. In the long run, Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will be remembered not […]
Who’s going to blink first on Freeland’s budget?
Budget preparation is not just about the spending priorities of the government. It is also about crafting a plan that would be election-ready should the opposition parties decide to defeat the government. In the upcoming budget, the government will be working to try and trap the opposition, while the other parties will be trying to […]
Inside Grit caucus: Trudeau ‘emphatic’ no spring election unless opposition parties trigger one, say Liberal MPs
Barring a major surprise from opposition parties, a potential spring election is now off the table on the upcoming budget because of the spread of COVID variants in Canada, the slow and sluggish vaccination rollout, and the possibility of a third wave hitting Canada in the coming weeks, according to last week’s national Liberal caucus […]
Pre-budget pitches, virtual ‘Hill days’ push February lobbying
The promise of the first federal budget in more than two years, planned legislation to address online hate, and pandemic-related health concerns drove the lobbying efforts in February of some of the busiest groups as Parliament returned for its first sitting of 2021. Last month, lobbyists filed 3,223 communication reports in the federal registry, a […]
Budget will set the stage for how well we emerge from the pandemic
TORONTO—The federal budget on April 19 will set the stage for how well we emerge from the pandemic and what kind of country we start to build over the next five years. Done right, the budget will push and pull Canada towards a new and more productive economy. That really has to be the overriding […]
