No surprises in fiscal update
Posted Oct 12, 2010 01:19:31 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did not catch anyone off guard with his fall fiscal update earlier today.
Flaherty unveiled no new spending or cost-cutting measures and, despite signs of a slowing economy, he reminded a Mississauga audience that stimulus spending will still end next spring.
The focus now turns to getting the government out of the red, which is the right approach according to Dr. Rob Leone.
The political scientist at Wilfrid Laurier University tells 570 News the government always said it would balance the books by 2015 and he didn’t expect to hear differently today.
When it comes to program cuts or spending measures, Leone again believes the “stay the course” approach is the right one.
“Cutting bureaucracy, changing programs, all of that often has to do with parliamentary approval,” Leone explains in an interview with 570 News. “And that’s not happening in the near-term anyway.”
Leone says this inability for the parties to get along in Ottawa is also the primary reason the government would have chosen a Mississauga business luncheon as the backdrop for its fall fiscal update. In a nutshell, he says, it’s the best way to get the message across.
Leone also believes there’s a message to business contained in today’s update and its location.
“The government is getting us (Canada) back on track but is relying on the private sector to create the jobs and invest,” Leone says.
In his update, Flaherty also admitted the federal deficit rose to its highest point in history last year at $55.6-billion but he insists the government is on track to balance its budget in just over five years.
