Governments need to start planning for the recovery and developing plans to put their finances in order
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute As expected, every government budget in Canada this year has been covered in red ink. The pandemic has squeezed tax revenue while governments have boosted spending to combat the public health crisis and deep recession. But after a year of social distancing and with the rollout…
Needs to start to unwind emergency spending implemented early in the pandemic
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute Now that the dust has settled on the Nova Scotia Liberal leadership race, new Premier Iain Rankin and provincial Finance Minister Labi Kousoulis will turn their attention to the upcoming 2021-22 provincial budget. Nova Scotia already faces a projected $779-million budget deficit for 2020 and a…
The government must craft a credible short-term plan to eliminate the budget deficit
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute The Ford government released Ontario’s 2020/21 third quarter fiscal update last week. As expected, the numbers were ugly. The Department of Finance now anticipates a $38.5 billion budget deficit for this fiscal year. Moreover, the Financial Accountability Officer projects that while the deficit will decrease substantially…
Deficits might seem like an abstract problem for the future but in Ontario this simply isn’t the case
By Steve Lafleur and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute New Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy inherits a difficult job from Rod Phillips. The province’s fiscal challenges long predate the pandemic. The province has mostly run uninterrupted budget deficits since 2008-09. The governments of both Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne sketched out long paths to budget…
Canadian charities are increasingly strapped for resources and face larger financial obstacles
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute This holiday season, many Nova Scotians will spend their time and money giving back to charitable causes. In fact, every year, tens of thousands of residents in the province donate to charities. However, according to a new study released by the Fraser Institute, both the percentage…
Leaving huge bills for future generations to pay
By Jason Clemens and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute Since coming to power in 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his finance ministers have characterized their management of federal finances as “prudent,” an adjective meaning to act with or show care and thought for the future. Acting prudently would mean being judicious about borrowing and debt.…
Federal government’s ongoing refusal to deliver a full budget another example of it avoiding accountability
By Jason Clemens and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute According to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, on Monday the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will provide an update on its 2020 spending. But the government hasn’t delivered a full federal budget since March 2019, more than 20 months ago. That demonstrates little regard for democratic…
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute New Brunswick faces a large budget deficit and rising provincial debt, thanks to the pandemic – and subsequent increased government spending, a shrinking economy and lower projected government revenues. It’s a situation mirrored in provinces across Canada. More important than this year’s deficit, however, are the…
Trudeau isn’t saying no new taxes; he’s saying we should continue to spend today and pay for it with taxes tomorrow
By Tegan Hill and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute Despite promising significant increases to already historically high spending, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently pledged there will be no new taxes. This rhetoric is simply false. To pay for today’s spending, the Liberal government must either tax today or defer tax increases to the future by…
Our high income tax rates discourage productive economic activity and put Canada at a competitive disadvantage
By Jake Fuss and Tegan Hill The Fraser Institute On July 8, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will release a “snapshot” of federal finances, the first such update since the COVID-19 crisis began. The government may also soon look to raise taxes to try to increase government revenue, either to finance new spending…