Feds have no new spending plans
Flaherty’s priority is to balance the budget by 2015
WAKEFIELD, QUEBEC — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says it’s “unlikely” there will be any significant new spending initiatives in the throne speech in October and over the next few years heading into the next election campaign in 2015 as the government looks to balance the books.
However, Flaherty said his government still intends to keep its expensive promise from the last election campaign to introduce income-splitting for couples with children under age 18, but only once the budget is balanced.
Flaherty met Wednesday with academic and business leaders for his seventh annual national policy retreat to pick their brains about what’s needed for the Canadian economy and incorporate the input in the next federal budget.
The finance minister said he doesn’t anticipate any more significant spending cuts will be needed beyond what has already been announced to meet the Conservative government’s promise to balance the books by the 2015 election.
However, Flaherty also said it’s “unlikely” Canadians will see any major new spending initiatives over the next two years leading up to the election, signalling the Conservative government’s new throne speech in October also won’t have any expensive new promises.
Flaherty quipped that his staff gave him a “No” stamp a few years ago as a Christmas gift, and that he’s ready to use it and turn down expensive spending requests.
“I intend to use (the stamp) a lot in the next few months,” he said.
“We will do what it takes to balance the budget in 2015-2016, not for the sake of balancing the budget, but to put Canada in a position of strength, so that we can react adequately to any sort of economic pressure that comes from outside our country,” Flaherty added.
The minister also said that while there are some “bumps” in the condominium market, especially in Toronto and Vancouver, the government has no plans at the moment to further intervene to cool the market.