With the resumption of parliament only a few days away, most people are at the edge of their seats awaiting the new budget to be announced by Harper. To avoid a vote of confidence, we are expecting as much as a $30 Billion deficit, with spending on infrastructure, tax cuts, and employment insurance. Considering only a few months ago, Harper denied the allegations of Canada even being in a recession; this will be a major step towards fixing the economic hardships which we are all enduring. The idea is to put government spending towards the growth of the lower and middle classes to ensure consumer spending, thus kick-start the economy.

Thirty-billion dollars is a lot of money. What happens if this deficit occurs and no change is done to our economy? Worse, what happens if with this major spending and deficit, our country goes further into recession? Where is this money going to come from? Will Canada spiral further into debt? Could we face the ever growing fear of another depression?

While these questions linger on everyone’s mind, infrastructure plans need to be perfected, spending must occur, but at the same time futile transactions must stop; jobs need to be created. Money must be put into the hands of the consumers. Confidence in not only the economy, but also the corporations and companies that keep it running, must grow. How do we go about doing that? Economists from around the country are working around the clock to figure out plans to ensure the growth of our economy, but they are – in the end – trapped within a box of their own creation, unable to take a step away from it, to gain an outside perspective on things.
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Harper is the Cause of the Forecasted Budget Deficit

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff lashed out at Harper for the upcoming deficit that is expected as a result of the new budget. Speaking to fellow caucus members this morning, Ignatieff lashed out at Prime Minister Stephen Harper stating that “this deficit is squarely Mr. Harper’s responsibility. He spent us down to the red line in the good times and so we face the hard times as citizens of a great country with the cupboard bare.”

After the Liberals’ decade of surplus budgets, it seems Ignatieff is very angry that Harper and his Conservative government have led us into a recession with nothing to spare. Does the infamous coalition live on?
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Can Harper save the economy with his budget?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced some preliminary information on the upcoming budget today. Spending on infrastructure, tax cuts, and revamping the employment insurance program were all discussed as potential methods to revive our economy. As well, a discussion on how the money will be raised, in order to meet these goals, took place. Harper has definitely come an awful long way since denying there were any economic issues just a few months ago.

Will the budget stand its ground against the opposition parties? Based on this announcement, it seems like it can, as long as Harper genuinely intends to include said measures. Harper will also need to think of some creative way to procure the billions of dollars that are needed to see this plan come to fruition.
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Harper and Flaherty are set to end the coalition for good with their new budget.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Friday January 9th, that the new budget will be big, it will be comprehensive, and it will be actionable over the next 3 – 5 years. In what is said to be the largest budget Canadians have seen in a long time, it will cover a large scope of economic challenges and opportunities that are forecasted for Canada. With the announcement of over 34,000 jobs lost in December alone, this budget better be a hell of a lot better than their last budget that nearly toppled the Conservative Government.

Now that Harper is no longer wavering on whether or not he thinks the economy is undergoing a crisis, this new budget is expected to not only provide measures that will ease the burden of 2009’s predicted recession but to also determine whether or not he will stay in power. If the budget is seen to not provide the necessary solutions for the citizens of Canada, will the coalition come back to life by the opposition parties voting “no” on the budget?
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