Connect with us

Breaking

Finance minister criticizes Liberals, but doesn’t respond to call for update

Published

on

Canada's Minister of Finance Joe Oliver (Facebook)

Canada’s Minister of Finance Joe Oliver (Facebook)

OTTAWA — The federal government is “well ahead” of its own projections for a balanced budget this year, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday, two days after the federal budget watchdog warned a slower-than-expected economy will keep Ottawa in the red until at least 2016.

And while Finance Minister Joe Oliver didn’t respond to a call from the Liberals to prove his projections for a small surplus are intact, Harper insisted his government’s balanced budget pledge isn’t merely an election-year fairytale.

“I think it’s more than speculating,” Harper told a news conference in Regina.

“We are well ahead of track, we’ve run a significant surplus — $4 billion in the first two month of this fiscal year,” he said.

“Our budgeting is very conservative and we are well on track to realize a balanced budget this year.”

Liberal finance critic Scott Brison has called on the government to back up that claim by making public the Finance department’s latest budgetary projections in front of a parliamentary committee.

While Oliver responded to the request Friday, he didn’t say whether he’ll provide a fiscal update before the expected Oct. 19 election — or at all.

In a letter to Brison, laden with Conservative party talking points, Oliver noted the federal treasury reported a $3.9 billion surplus in April and May of this year.

He also repeated his months-old mantra — that the government remains on track for a balanced budget this year.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer warned on Wednesday that Ottawa could see a budget deficit of $1 billion in the current fiscal year, based on a downgraded Bank of Canada economic forecast.

The Conservatives tabled a budget in April that predicted a .

online pharmacy purchase bactrim without prescription with best prices today in the USA

4-billion surplus this year, but the budget officer’s calculation raised doubts about the projection.

And without updated numbers, the opposition parties are shying away from making their own pledges to balance the books in 2015.

Brison has said he can’t say with certainty that the Liberal party, if elected to govern, will produce a balanced budget this year without updated numbers from Finance.

“Then, and only then, are we able to predict with certainty what we’re capable of doing in terms of balancing,” Brison said in an interview Thursday.

online pharmacy purchase cellcept without prescription with best prices today in the USA

The New Democrats had said they would deliver a small surplus in 2015-16 under their policy platform.

But NDP Leader Tom Mulcair appeared to step away from that pledge Friday, saying in a television interview his party will have to make “tough choices,” and will balance the federal books over time.

“Over the life of our promises… we’ll be able to balance the budget,” Mulcair told the CBC, giving the example of his party’s child-care plan, which he said the NDP would roll out over eight years.

Oliver cast doubts on the policies of both opposition parties, repeating in his letter a link the Conservatives have been trying to make between the opposition fiscal platforms and the economic crisis that has recently plagued parts of Europe.

“The situation in Greece is another reminder that we remain in a fragile global economy,” said Oliver.

“Both the Liberals and NDP would have had Canada join the list of countries now owed billions by Greece.”

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle2 weeks ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle3 weeks ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle2 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver3 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver4 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Ageing Gratefully and Joyfully

My 56th trip around the sun is just around the corner! Whew. Wow. Admittedly, I used to be afraid of...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

My Love Affair With Pearls

On March 18, 2023, my article, The Power of Pearls was published. In that article, I wrote about the history...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

7 Creative Ways to Propose!

Sometime in April 2022, my significant other gave me a heads up: he will be proposing to me on May...