Thursday Mar. 4, 2010 9:58 PM ET
The Conservative government hopes to rein in federal spending, including planned funding to the Canadian Forces, to cut a deficit that has soared to $53.7 billion.
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The federal government is confirming plans to create a new watchdog over the RCMP.
Call it the cross-your-fingers deficit elimination plan. Jim Flaherty's plan to largely get rid of the deficit in five years depends on uninterrupted economic growth, historically low interest rates and uncharacteristic spending restraint.
The Conservatives' budget will likely pass a vote in Parliament, as the Liberals and the NDP said they will vote against the document -- but in small numbers that won't topple the government.
The federal government will reduce its previously planned growth in military spending in 2012 following Canada's mission in Afghanistan. The measure will save the feds $2.5 billion over a period of five years.
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The government's fiscal restraint measures are targetting the loonies and toonies in our pockets -- literally. Under plans outlined in Budget 2010, new technology will cut the coins' production costs to the tune of $15 million a year.
If tough economic times force governments to focus on their top priorities, they also make it crystal clear which areas are left at the bottom of the heap.
A small item in the federal budget will be welcome news for anyone who's been frustrated by a seven-day wait for a cheque to clear.
Live Blog on the Budget on CTV.ca ... Hit "play" to see an archive on the six-hour conversation about the government's latest budget.
The nip-and-tuck business got nipped in the federal budget. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is cutting tax deductions for most cosmetic surgery.
The full text of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget speech.
The Conservatives will freeze foreign-aid spending next year after honouring the final instalment of a decade-old Liberal government promise to double overseas development spending.
Ottawa is closing a lucrative tax loop hole for companies and executives who receive stock options that will bring in an extra $270 million for government coffers in the upcoming fiscal year.
With a section of his budget speech titled "Going for Gold," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty could hardly ignore the Olympic athletes whose victories he was invoking.
The Conservative government's throne speech outlines plans to restore "fiscal balance" to its record-setting $56 billion deficit by restraining government spending -- including a symbolic freeze of MPs' and senators' salaries.
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The Tories' promised corporate tax cuts escaped the scythe Thursday in the face of the $49.2-billion deficit, but there was little fresh help for companies staggered by the recession.
The Conservative government is adding another $200 million over the next two years to its compensation fund for former students of the residential school system because of "higher than expected funding needs."
Canada's closed-shop telecommunications industry is being thrown open to foreign competition, setting the stage for more wireless players and possibly lower rates for cellphones and other telecom services.
When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers the federal budget Thursday afternoon, $400 million will go to Atomic Energy of Canada in an effort to reposition the troubled nuclear energy firm to sell its Candu reactors division, The Canadian Press reports.
Most of the substance of Thursday's federal budget will centre on spending cuts and the growing deficit, but experts say the government is ignoring the demographic elephant in the room: the looming effect of an aging Canadian population on federal finances.
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Thursday's budget the toughest of his career, and said he got lots of practice saying "no."
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The Bank of Canada is keeping interest rates at historic lows for a few more months, while sending out signals that the economy is rebounding strongly and could trigger inflationary pressures.
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The years of big spending hikes are likely over for Canada's military, but analysts say a federal budget that asks the Canadian Forces to make do with what they have could be dangerous for troops.
The federal government shouldn't be afraid to rack up an even higher budget deficit this year in order to create jobs and bolster the economy, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an independent research group.
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While the vast majority of Canadians are concerned about the ballooning national deficit, only a small minority support health cuts as a way to make up budget shortfalls, a new poll suggests.
