Harper Government Releases Eighth Consecutive Federal Budget
By Travis Gordon
( Photo: Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press ) The Harper government released their eighth consecutive budget yesterday at 5 PM. The budget, which is very much the type that has been expected of Harper's Conservative government, is titled the 'Economic Action Plan 2013', following weeks of advertising under the same brand. This year's budget lays out a framework for balancing the budget by 2015, a much-publicized target for the restoration of federal fiscal balance. The budget also aims to reallocate $500 million dollars from existing federal-provincial labour market agreements into a new program to be called the 'Canada Jobs Grant', designed to provide skills retraining. The new grant program will provide up to $15,000 per recipient, to be cost-shared between the federal government, the provincial government, and the employer. Other initiatives include requiring companies who want to fulfill federal government contracts to hire more apprentices, providing money up to 5,000 more paid internships for post-secondary graduates, and cracking down on foreign tax havens to increase general revenues. The budget's projected deficit is $18.7 billion dollars. In a release late Thursday, the province stated that the federal budget would not upset any planned provincial budgetary measures. "In next week's budget, I plan to renew our Island's emphasis on modernizing health care services, building a more effective education system, and improving our long-term economic prospects," said Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan. The provincial budget is set to be unveiled on Wednesday, March 27th.
