With some recent privatization reversals, a number of business leaders and free market fundamentalists are concerned that the BC Liberals are backing away from the Campbell revolution. The government, in their opinion, needs to get back with the program -- more tax cuts, deeper and faster spending cuts, privatize Crown corporations, and get rid of environmental and labour regulations.
Government finance
Paul Martin has made democratic reform a hallmark of his leadership. According to the throne speech, the government promises to "make Parliament what it was intended to be - a place where Canadians can see and hear their views debated and their interests heard." But it is pretty clear that no democracy can function without clear and accurate information about what the government is really doing. After all, how can Canadians engage effectively with our elected representatives if we don't know the real facts and figures?
Tuesday's budget speech and the recent Speech from the Throne were full of references to the Spirit of 2010. But rather than setting out a plan to get BC in shape for the Olympics -- just six years away -- spending cuts in the Budget take us in the opposite direction.
It is government budget season again. The provincial government that a year ago claimed "Nova Scotia is in better shape than it has been in a generation" is now forecasting more difficult choices. The federal government, after surpluses of $50 billion over the past 5 years, is still claiming that the cupboards are bare.
Claims of tough times have become part of the budget cycle in Canadian politics. But there is more at stake here than political rhetoric. Warnings of bare cupboards and difficult choices have played a crucial role in the implementation of a broader agenda.
If the recent federal budget was a conscious attempt by the government to address the fallout from the sponsorship scandal, it failed the test. The budget documents are as opaque as ever in terms of giving Canadians an inkling of how and where the federal government is spending our money. Unlike budgets in provinces such as BC that have made transparency a priority, the federal budget is as clear as mud.
Promises, promises - it's election time again. But can the three major national parties pay for what they are promising in their electoral platforms?
We decided to do a little arithmetic to ascertain whether each party can pay for what it claims it will do, and still balance its budget. The full report is published at www.policyalternatives.ca, but here are some of the highlights.
(Vancouver) The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives--BC Office (CCPA-BC) is calling on Finance Minister Paul Martin to reject calls for across the board tax cuts in this year's federal budget. CCPA-BC Director Seth Klein and Economist Marc Lee appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance this afternoon. The Finance Committe is conducting its annual pre-budget consultations.
(Vancouver) A stronger economy in 1999 will mean a much smaller deficit for 1999/00, creating room in the 2000 Budget for progressive policy choices, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said today in a briefing with Finance Minster Paul Ramsey.
"The Ontario Government's plan to spend $300 million on a tax credit for private schooling is just a fraction of the total of $2.3 billion cut from public education since Mike Harris was elected," the author of a new CCPA study says.
(Vancouver) "The government says it is giving us tough medicine for the economy, but this budget plan is more like a poison pill," says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "This plan means unnecessary pain for thousands of individuals."