2010 Canadian Government Budgets - Canadian Social Research Links

Economic Forecast Shows Federal Government Is on the Right Track
October 12, 2010
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today released an update of the Government's economic and fiscal projections. The update clearly demonstrates that Canada remains on track to return to a balanced budget over the medium term. (...) Canada's Economic Action Plan has underpinned a solid and enviable economic recovery, and Canada has recouped virtually all of the output lost during the recession. As a result of this solid economic performance, nearly 423,000 jobs have been created in Canada since July 2009.

Minister of Finance Introduces the Sustaining Canada’s Economic Recovery Act
News Release
September 30, 2010
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today continued the Government of Canada’s focus on the economy by introducing the Sustaining Canada’s Economic Recovery Act in the House of Commons. The Act, which includes measures from Budget 2010, represents a key component of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. (...)
The Act includes measures to:
Help Canadian Families Get Ahead
* Indexing the Working Income Tax Benefit
* Allowing Registered Retirement Savings Plan proceeds to be transferred to a Registered Disability Savings Plan on a tax-deferred basis
* Allowing a 10-year carry forward for Registered Disability Savings Plan grants and bonds
* Implementing Employee Life and Health Trusts
* Further strengthening federally regulated pension plans
Cut Red Tape
Close Down Tax Loopholes
Protect Consumers
Promote Clean Energy
More details on these and other measures from Budget 2010 are available at www.budget.gc.ca

Government of Canada Moves Forward
With Tax Relief and Benefits for Canadians
News Release
September 28, 2010
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today tabled in the House of Commons a Notice of Ways and Means Motion to implement key tax relief measures from Budget 2010. (...)
The Notice of Ways and Means Motion includes tax measures to:
* Index the Working Income Tax Benefit.
* Provide for the sharing of the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Universal Child Care Benefit in cases of shared custody.
* Allow Registered Retirement Savings Plan proceeds to be transferred to a Registered Disability Savings Plan on a tax-deferred basis.
* Address aggressive tax planning techniques related to Tax-Free Savings Accounts.
* Amend labour-sponsored venture capital corporation rules relating to Tax-Free Savings Accounts.
* more...

More details on these and other measures can be found in the attached Notice of Ways and Means Motion and detailed explanatory notes, as well as the March 2010 federal budget

Report to Canadians Shows Canada’s Economic Action Plan Is Supporting the Recovery
News Release
September 27, 2010
Through the Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed funds to over 23,000 projects across Canada to stimulate the economy and put Canadians back to work. The announcement was made by the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, together with the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec, upon release of the 6th report to Canadians on the implementation of the Economic Action Plan. The Report to Canadians says the Economic Action Plan is on track to deliver a further $22 billion in federal stimulus spending in 2010-11. All of the jobs lost during the recession in Canada have now been recouped.

Canada's Economic Action Plan:
A Sixth Report to Canadians
HTML version
PDF version (1.4MB, 146 pages)
September 2010

Selected highlights:
• This Budget will result in a deficit for the 2010-11 year of $54.9 million – an improvement of over $30 million from last year’s Budget.
• An additional $13.6 million will be invested in early learning and education to build opportunities for Island children.
• As kindergarten moves into the public school system as a full-day program, Government funding will rise from $3.2 million to $10 million this fiscal year.
• After too many years of neglect, new funding of $2.5 million plus additional kindergarten-related savings will be invested in the Early Childhood Sector.
• Government’s total commitment to post-secondary education will increase by over $9 million this fiscal year – from $80 million to more than $89 million.
• Health care investments will rise by $24 million – reflecting Government’s understanding that this system must continually modernize and improve.
• Spending on home care will increase to a total of $13 million.
• Funding for drug programs will increase by over $1.3 million – and forecast savings of $1.2 million from new generic drugs will be reinvested in the program.

Highlights (PDF - 201K, 14 pages)
Priorities:
• Bringing kindergarten into the public school system.
• Transitioning the early childhood sector for a sustainable future.
• Enhancing the delivery of health care to Islanders.
• Securing our primary industries of agriculture, fisheries and
tourism.
• Moving toward fiscal sustainability.
(...)
Helping Islanders in Need:
• Social assistance shelter rates increase by 2 per cent effective June 1, 2010.
• Funding of $30,000 allocated for the Alzheimer Society.
• An additional $256,000 is allocated for non-government organizations.

P.E.I. knocks big chunk off deficit
Province counts on economic improvement
April 23, 2010
P.E.I. Finance Minister Wes Sheridan is relying on improved economic conditions to take nearly $30 million off the provincial budget deficit in the coming year. Sheridan presented his budget to the legislature Friday morning. It shows a forecast deficit of $84.2 million for 2009-10, but estimates in 2010-11 that will fall to $54.9 million. Sheridan told a media briefing shortly before presenting his budget that the deficit would be eliminated in four years.
(...) The government has laid out a four-year plan to eliminate the deficit in 2013-14. The elimination will be achieved by increasing expenditures slowly and seeing revenues increase more quickly through economic growth.
(...) While overall program expenditures are up just $4.6 million, the government is increasing spending in two key areas — health and education — by much more.
(...) A $2.5-million boost in early childhood education funding is the beginning of a new focus, and there will be more money for teaching and care of pre-kindergarten children in subsequent budgets.
Source:
CBC PEI

Nova Scotia
Provincial Budget Introduced
April 6, 2010
News Release
Finance Minister Graham Steele presented the provincial budget today, April 6, at Province House. (...) The government tabled a budget in fiscal 2010-11 with a deficit of $222.1 million. This is the first year of a four-year fiscal plan to return to a balanced budget. (...)
Government's long-term plan contains four key components:
-- bring better health care to Nova Scotia families
-- create secure jobs and growing the economy
-- make life more affordable
-- ensure government lives within its means."

More budget documents - links to budget bulletins, main estimates, government and Crown Corporation business plans

N.S. budget makes HST highest in Canada
Government unveils 4-year deficit-reduction plan
April 6, 201
Nova Scotia's NDP government has kicked off a four-year deficit-busting plan by increasing the harmonized sales tax — making it the highest combined provincial and federal tax rate in the country. Finance Minister Graham Steele unveiled his $9-billion deficit budget on Tuesday, calling it a "smart, strategic and steady" plan necessary to tackle a painful financial outlook. The NDP expects to end 2009-10 with a deficit of $488 million. This coming year, it expects to finish $222 million in the red.
Budget 2010-11 highlights:
* Projected deficit of $222 million.
* HST rises to 15%, as of July 1.
* Rebates for people making less than $30,000.
* New tax bracket for earners of $150,000 or more.
* 1,000 civil servant jobs gone over four years.
* Debt climbs to $14 billion.
* No balanced budget until 2013.
Source:
CBC Nova Scotia
[TIP: Don't forget to check the Comments section immediately after the article ===> 550+ comments!]

News Releases
- click the link above for access to the following releases (all dated March 30, 2010):
* 2010-2011 Budget: Choices for the Future
* 2010-2011 Budget: Stimulate Job Creation and Economic Recovery
* 2010-2011 Budget: A More Efficient and Better Funded Health-Care System
* 2010-2011 Budget: Staying the Course Towards a Balanced Budget in 2013-2014
* 2010-2011 Budget: Paying Down Our Debt: A Matter of Intergenerational Equity
* 2010-2011 Budget: Building the Québec of the Next 20 Years
* 2010-2011 Budget: Appendix - Table

Additional Information on the Budgetary mesures (PDF - 1.3MB, 204 pages)
"(...) 6.1 Plan to combat poverty
In the coming months, the Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity will unveil the new 2010-2015 government action plan to combat poverty and social exclusion. To support that initiative, the 2010-2011 Budget provides for an additional investment of $1.3 billion for the next five years..."

- includes a table showing annual investments to combat poverty over the next five years under each of several new measures:
* introduction of a Solidarity Tax Credit to provide for compensation for planned tax increases
* additional funding to the Fonds québécois d’initiatives sociales (social initiatives fund), to bolster collaborative intervention by the various organizations involved
* 3,000 new social housing throughout Quebec plus 340 new dwellings in Nunavik
* new measures to help seniors with the cost of home supports

Update on Federal Transfers - 2009-2010 Budget (PDF - 563K, 24 pages)
"(...) By unilaterally modifying, in recent months, the equalization program, then the Canada Health Transfer allocation formula, the federal government has reneged on its commitments [to review and improve transfers to Quebec) . What is more, for the past ten years, the three provinces that have most greatly benefited from increasing federal transfers are Ontario, Alberta and British
Columbia..."
- includes tables showing:
* Change in the Canada Social Transfer compared to 1994-1995
* Federal contribution to provincial social assistance spending in 2009-2010 (millions of dollars and dollars per social assistance recipient)
* Increase in federal transfers to the provinces since 1999-2000

Quebec budget slaps lower, middle classes: critics
March 31, 2010
Opposition parties are lining up with interest groups to denounce Quebec's new budget as a cash grab that will bruise the province's majority lower and middle classes. Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand tabled his first budget Tuesday afternoon. It includes a graduated health levy and other public service user fees, two levels of fuel taxes and a higher provincial sales tax. The revenue-generating measures will help pay down Quebec's $4.5-billion deficit, Bachand said, and will help set a new relationship between taxpayers and the province.

Quebec 2010 Budget: Key Points
What the budget measures mean for you
March 30, 201
Staring at a $4.5-billion deficit for 2010-2011 on revenues of $64.5 billion, Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand is asking businesses and individuals alike to pitch in and help line the province's coffers. Quebec's service fees and tax hikes will increase the cost of living:
* A family of four earning $70,000 will pay $650 more in 2011, and $1,250 more in 2012.
* A single person earning $40,000 will pay $365 more in 2011, and $1,250 more in 2012.
* Higher taxes at the gas pump mean it will cost drivers more to fill up. The budget eliminates funding for 28 provincial agencies, and includes measures for program reviews and salary freezes in the public sector. Quebec has more debt than any other Canadian province, equal to 53 per cent of its GDP.

Budget 2010-2011 du Québec
Le 30 mars 2010
Vous trouverez sur cette page principale du budget des liens vers les documents budgétaires suivants, entre autres:

* Communiqués
Cliquez le lien ci-dessus pour accéder aus communiqués suivants:
* Budget 2010-2011 : Des choix pour l'avenir
* Budget 2010-2011 : Stimuler la création d'emplois et la relance de l'économie
* Budget 2010-2011 : Mieux financer le système de santé et le rendre plus performant
* Budget 2010-2011 : Maintenir le cap sur l'équilibre budgétaire en 2013-2014
* Budget 2010-2011 : Rembourser notre dette : une question d'équité intergénérationnelle
* Budget 2010-2011 : Construire le Québec des vingt prochaines années
* Budget 2010-2011 : Annexe - Tableau

Le point sur les transferts fédéraux - Budget 2009-2010 (PDF - 26 pages, 560 Ko)
"(...) En modifiant de manière unilatérale au cours des derniers mois le programme de péréquation, puis la formule de répartition du Transfert canadien en matière de santé, le gouvernement fédéral est revenu sur ses engagements (touchant la bonification de la péréquation au Québec). En outre, depuis dix ans, les trois provinces qui ont le plus bénéficié de la hausse des transferts fédéraux sont l’Ontario, l’Alberta et la Colombie-Britannique."
Tableaux à noter:
* Évolution du TCPS par rapport au niveau de 1994-1995
* Contribution fédérale aux dépenses des provinces en matière d’aide sociale en 2009-2010 (en millions de dollars et en dollars par bénéficiaire de l’aide sociale)
* Augmentation des transferts fédéraux aux provinces depuis 1999-2000

* Renseignements additionnels sur les mesures du budget (PDF - 220 pages, 1,27 Mo)
"(...) 6.1 Plan de lutte contre la pauvreté:
Au cours des prochains mois, le ministre de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale dévoilera le nouveau plan d’action gouvernemental en matière de lutte contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale 2010-2015. Afin d’appuyer cette initiative, le budget 2010-2011 prévoit un investissement additionnel de 1,3 milliard de dollars pour les cinq prochaines années.
À noter:
Dans ce fichier, vous trouverez un tableau qui présente les crédits budgétaires annuels de 2010 à 2015 pour chaque nouvelle initiative mentionnée ci-dessous:
* Mise en place d'un crédit d’impôt pour la solidarité en compensation pour la hausse éventuelle des taxes
* Un financement additionnel dans le Fonds québécois d’initiatives sociales pour une concertation accrue des interventions du milieu;
* Construction de 3 000 nouveaux logements sociaux au Québec et 340 nouveaux logements à Nunavik
* Nouvelles mesures pour compenser les coûts liés au maintien à domicile d'une personne âgée

Québec s'en remet aux contribuables
30 mars 2010
Pour retrouver le chemin de l'équilibre budgétaire, le budget du gouvernement Charest confie près de 40 % de l'effort aux contribuables en imposant une taxe santé, ainsi que des hausses de la TVQ, de la taxe sur l'essence et des droits de scolarité.
Source:
Radio-Canada

Budget Highlights
"(...)Investments in Poverty Reduction:
* Total investment of $134 million this year, a total of $482.7 million since 2006.
* $2.5 million to increase the income thresholds under the Newfoundland and Labrador Prescription Drug Program Access Plan, a total investment of $139.6 million.
* $310,000 to enhance the Family Justice Services Division.
* $519,000 for the continuation of the Family Violence Intervention Court.
* $2.4 million in funding for the Supportive Living Community Partnership Initiative, doubling the amount of $1.2 million provided last year.
* $125,000 to provide community-based supports for Inuit women in Labrador to receive guidance on how to make the most of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Aboriginal Training Initiative, Victim Services and emerging economic activities.
* $100,000 in sustaining funding for the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women’s Network.
* Investment of $6.8 million this year in the federal-provincial Affordable Housing Program to build an additional 230 rental housing units for seniors, persons with disabilities and persons requiring supportive services.
* $17.6 million and leveraging additional federal funds to modernize more than 2,300 housing units.
* An additional $1.4 million to raise the Housing Corporation’s annual maintenance budget to $10.2 million.
* Providing $1.2 million to raise the heating allowance for the Housing Corporation’s low-income tenants.
* $70,000 in additional funding for transitional employment support services for victims of violence and $44,000 in additional funding for Women’s Centres.
* $200,000 for the continuation of the Home Heating Oil Tank Storage Replacement Assistance Program."

News Releases - click this link to access the following releases:
* Budget 2010: The Right Investments – For Our Children and Our Future
* Strengthening the Economy for a Prosperous Future: $1 Billion Slated for Infrastructure Spending in Budget 2010
* A Secure Future through Education: Budget 2010 Invests in Our Children and Youth
* Business Expansion and Positive Dividends for Future Generations Targeted in Budget 2010
* Budget 2010: The Right Investments to Strengthen Provincial Healthcare
* For Children, Youth and Families – Budget 2010 Positions New Department for Change and Revitalization
* Building a Solid Foundation: Budget 2010 Continues Substantial Investments in Education Infrastructure
* Managing Our Natural Resources – For Our Children and Our Future
* Seniors, Small Business and Others to Benefit from Tax Relief Measures
* Long-Term Care and Community Supports Strengthened Through Budget 2010
* Making the Right Investments to Support Self-Reliance
* Securing Labrador’s Future through the Northern Strategic Plan

Newfoundland and Labrador cuts taxes in deficit budget
March 29, 2010
Newfoundland and Labrador will run a deficit in the coming fiscal year, even though it will also cut taxes for many wage earners, the finance minister said Monday. Tom Marshall unveiled a budget that increases spending in many government programs, including an ambitious infrastructure program designed to shore up the province's economy against the ravages of the international recession. The broad-ranging budget includes record spending on health care and a new focus on child welfare. On the business side, it boasts tax cuts that the government says are necessary to lure new professionals and stay competitive with the other Atlantic provinces.
Source:
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

Yukon Budget 2010-2011
March 25, 2010
- links to all budget documents, including financial information, projections, operations and maintenance estimates, and capital estimates

Record spending in Yukon budget
March 25, 2010
Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie has presented a $1.08-billion budget that promises another year of record spending, one that opposition MLAs say will burden future generations with massive debt. In introducing the budget in the legislature Thursday, Fentie, who is also the Yukon's finance minister, said he has laid out a responsible spending plan that will see the Yukon into the future. (...) The 2010-11 budget projects revenues of $1.05 billion and expenditures of $1.08 billion, but the government said that because of various adjustments, it'll have a $2.9-million surplus by the end of the fiscal year. However, the government will be coming out of the 2009-10 fiscal year with a $23-million deficit, about $11 million of which was spent by the Health and Social Services Department.
Source:
CBC North

2010 Ontario Budget (main budget page)
March 25, 2010
- links to all budget papers, news releases, sector highlights, backgrounders, etc.

2010 Ontario Budget: Sector Highlights
Poverty Reduction Strategy
- one per cent increase in adult basic-needs allowances and maximum shelter allowances in Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program in the fall of 2010.
- Special Diet Allowance - being phased out and replaced by a new nutritional supplement program to be administered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
- Ontario commits $63.5 million a year permanently in the area of child care, to fill the gap left by the federal government (since the termination of the Early Learning and Child Care Agreement).
- provincial minimum wage will rise to $10.25/hour on March 31, 2010.
- $11.8 billion in tax relief for people over three to enhance ongoing sales and property tax relief, cut personal income taxes and help Ontarians adjust to the transition to the Harmonized Sales Tax
NOTE: the remainder of the highlights page is an overview of poverty reduction measures announced since the previous Ontario budget, such as the Social Assistance Review Advisory Council, new housing infrastructure initiatives, increased funding for the Youth Opportunities Strategy, improvements to dental services for kids in low-income families, full-day learning for four- and five-year olds, and more...

Review of Ontario's 2010 Provincial Budget
Posted March 27, 2010
HTML version
PDF version (21K, 2 pages)
"(...) In the Budget, the Finance Minister ignored the Ministry of Community and Social Services-led Social Assistance Review Advisory Group and implemented none of its short term recommendations. However, on the same day as the Budget, social services Minister Meilleur wrote to the Advisory Group promising to make good on four of their recommendations that were seen to be outside of the Budgetary process.

The Ministry will:
· stop deducting some more of the payments made by family members to recipients,
· shorten suspension periods for non-compliance,
· stop the catch-22 that results when recipients pay down government debt with windfalls and then get disqualified from benefits for doing what they are told to do; and
· allow recipients to share accommodation without suffering penalties for doing so.

Perhaps more interesting are the allocations made to MCSS. The government will allocate $500 million to MCSS for 2010-2011 for social assistance but only $57 million for the rate increase meaning that $443 million is allocated for caseload growth..."
Source:
Recession Relief Coalition

Ontario unveils 8-year deficit plan
Budget freezes public sector salaries, boosts university funding
March 25, 2010
The Ontario government mapped a slow road to balancing the province's books on Thursday, projecting a deficit of $19.7 billion for fiscal year 2010-11 and saying it would stay in the red until 2017-18. Finance Minister Dwight Duncan tabled a $125.9 billion budget that had little in the way of new spending or direct cuts to programs but promised to reduce the deficit by half in five years and eliminate it completely in eight.

Budget throws Ontario’s poor in limbo
March 25, 2010
The sting of recession and deep-seated poverty will continue for too many Ontarians who were left behind in today’s provincial budget, says the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction. “While the provincial government held the line on some poverty reduction promises, it has thrown 162,000 Ontarians with special dietary needs into limbo by announcing the replacement of the Special Diet program with another initiative – the details of which are yet to be worked out,” says 25 in 5 co-chair Michael Creek. “There are a lot of unanswered questions about the adequacy of the new nutrition supplement.”
Source:
25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction

2010 Budget Holds Only Threat For Ontario’s Most Vulnerable
TORONTO, March 25, 2010
The 2010 Budget fails the test of a Government committed to a comprehensive poverty reduction plan for Ontarians. An amount of $57 million is designated as an increase to the Basic Needs Allowance for people on social assistance, which is 1%, while inflation is projected to be 2% or higher in 2010.
Source:
Social Policy Network
The Social Planning Network of Ontario (SPNO) is a coalition of social planning councils (SPC), community development councils (CDC), resource centres, and planning committees located in various communities throughout Ontario. Each of the individual organizations has their own mandates but are connected in the cause of effecting change on social policies, conditions, and issues.

Welfare isn't broken so it won't be fixed
March 24, 2010
Opinion
By Simon Black
On Thursday, provincial Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will deliver the government of Ontario's budget for 2010. As reported in last Wednesday's Star, Duncan is set to announce investments in post-secondary education as part of the province's Open Ontario plan and has pledged not to embark on a reckless deficit reduction program that would threaten jobs, services, and Ontario's economic recovery. It is also widely expected Duncan will announce action on the province's social assistance programs, Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). And while anti-poverty advocates have long demanded major improvements to these programs, they shouldn't hold their breath.
Source:
Toronto Star

Ontario deficit to last into 2017
March 16, 2010
By Robert Benzie
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals will have to win two more elections – in 2011 and 2015 -- before Ontario’s record deficit is eliminated under a plan to be unveiled in the March 25 budget.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Driving the Poor Deeper Into Poverty:
The Province and the City of Toronto
Team up to Attack the Special Diet
March 19, 2010
By Liisa Schofield and John Clarke
Since 2005, a large part of OCAP's (Ontario Coalition Against Poverty) work has involved organizing to obtain and defend access to a benefit known as the Special Diet Allowance (SDA). Under this, people living on the Province's sub poverty social assistance system who obtain the appropriate diagnoses from a medical provider, can receive up to an additional $250 a month for food. Access to the Special Diet has had to be fought for tooth and nail. Medical providers interested in helping poor people access this benefit are few and far between. (...) As this is being written, the prospect that the Liberals will use their upcoming Budget to abolish the Special Diet outright is looming very large (see our submission to the pre-budget ‘consultations’ - Feb. 3, 2010).
[ Liisa Schofield and John Clarke are organizers with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. ]
Source:
E-Bulletin No. 329
[ The Bullet Socialist Project ]
The Socialist Project does not propose an easy politics for defeating capitalism or claim a ready alternative to take its place. We oppose capitalism out of necessity and support the resistance of others out of solidarity. This resistance creates spaces of hope, and an activist hope is the first step to discovering a new socialist politics.

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)
OCAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We mount campaigns against regressive government policies as they affect poor and working people.

Ontario seeks Ottawa's help as welfare cases spike
Province calling for national standard for accessing
Employment Insurance payments as laid-off workers exhaust their federal benefits
March 15, 2009
By Bill Curry
"(...) Ontario in particular is calling on Ottawa to step in with a further expansion of federal EI so that provinces and workers are treated the same no matter where they live in Canada. Because EI is easier to get in regions of historically high unemployment, the province says many Ontarians who lost their jobs during the recession were left out."
Source:
The Globe and Mail

Have the poor fallen off the agenda?
March 15, 2010
By Carol Goar
"(...) As budget day approaches, anti-poverty groups aren't expecting much. They know times are tough. They know education, not poverty reduction, is McGuinty's priority. They know the poor are always told to wait when there is a deficit. They'd like to trust the premier. But all the harbingers look bleak.
Source:
Toronto Star

Stepping up for Ontarians:
Staying the course on poverty reduction commitments (PDF - 168K, 7 pages)
Submission to Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs
February 1, 2010
(...) What we know from this past recession is that we are all vulnerable. Every child is vulnerable, every middle class job is vulnerable, every household is vulnerable, and every community is vulnerable. But strategic solutions are at hand. Some solutions require immediate investments to
protect the vulnerable and stimulate the economy by keeping and creating good jobs; others require simple rule changes to ensure the Premier meets his government's priority of providing the best public services for Ontario's vulnerable.
Source:
25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
25-in-5: Network for Poverty Reduction is a multi-sectoral network comprised of more than 100 provincial and Toronto-based organizations and individuals working on eliminating poverty. (...) We are asking our government for a plan to reduce Ontario poverty levels by 25% in 5 years and by 50% before 2018.

Government delivers balanced budget by reducing spending (PDF - 53K, 3 pages)
News Release
March 24, 2010
The provincial government today delivered a balanced budget by reducing overall government spending by $121.3 million or 1.2 per cent from last year’s budget. (...) Reductions have been realized in 14 ministries and there will be lower debt-servicing costs this year, as a result of the government paying down debt by more than $2.6 billion in recent years. As part of the restraint measures, the government has embarked on a process to reduce the size and cost of government operations.

Other news releases
(Click this link then select a news release from the list below.)
* 2010-11 Facts and Figures
* Post-Secondar Education High Priority in Budget
* Agriculture Budget Focuses on Farmers and Ranchers
* Province Continues to Invest in Young People
* Health Budget Addresses Priorities
* Budget 2010-11 Continues Historic Committment to Highways*
* Infrastructure Funding Revenue Sharing Highlighted in Budget
* Beverage Alcohol Prices to Increase
* Government Invests in Housing, Children and Families
* Government Provides SCN Core Services in More Efficient Manner

Saskatchewan cuts jobs, spending
Cigarette taxes up, potash revenues down
March 24, 2010
Selected highlights:
* $10.1B spending plan, down $121M from last year.
* $20M surplus, thanks to $194M from rainy-day fund.
* 15 per cent cut in workforce over four years.
* Elimination of 528 positions this year.
* Three per cent increase in health spending
* $220M in potash revenue, down 90%.
* No changes to sales tax or income tax.
* Closure of Saskatchewan Communication Network.
* 67 cent increase for pack of cigarettes.
* One tax-free carton of cigarettes a week for First Nations smokers, down from three.
* Beer-price hike of 75 cents per 12 bottles.
* End to universal chiropractic subsidy.

Budget 2010: Manitoba Moves Forward
Five-year Economic Plan to Grow the Economy, Invest in Key Services: Wowchuk
News Release
March 23, 2010
Budget 2010 introduces a five-year economic plan that will tackle the budget shortfall while at the same time continue to invest in front-line services in health care, education and training, policing and supports for families, Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk said today.

Nunavut 2010-2011 Budget - March 8, 2010
- main page, includes links to budget address, highlights, supplementary information, main estimates, capital estimates and business plans.
NOTE: When I tried to access some of the files on April 7 (2010) using Firefox v.3.6.3, I received an octet-stream error message.
Translation: Some of the links in this page work only with Internet Explorer.
Boo.

Nunavut unveils 'prudent' $1.3B budget
March 8, 2010
Nunavut Finance Minister Keith Peterson has tabled a budget that aims to balance the territory's books. Tabling the 2010-11 budget Monday in Iqaluit, Peterson said he's presented a "prudent" balanced budget in light of a $44-million deficit that's projected for this fiscal year. The latest deficit figure is up $15 million from the government's previous projections, due in part to $8 million the government spent last year to combat the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Peterson said.
Source:
CBC News North

Budget 2010: Leading the Way on Jobs and Growth
News Release
March 4, 2010
Ottawa - The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today tabled a budget plan that builds on Canada’s economic recovery with action to create jobs and growth, sustains our nation’s economic advantages and includes a disciplined plan to return to balanced budgets. “We present today a jobs and growth budget,” said Minister Flaherty. “In this budget, we are completing our Economic Action Plan to create jobs now. We are taking additional measures to protect existing jobs and create new jobs. We are also looking ahead to secure our long-term economic growth.”
Source:
Department of Finance Canada

Federal Budget 2010 - Benefits to Provinces and Territories
"Discover how your tax dollar benefits your province or territory here."
March 2010|
Overview:
* Reducing the Tax Burden of Canadians
* Knowledge and Innovation
* Protecting Jobs, Supporting the Unemployed and Those in Need
* Business and Communities
* Infrastructure
* Agriculture
* Fisheries
* Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories
NOTE:
You must click the teeny-tiny drop-down menu that says "Overview" to access links to the provincial and territorial pages.
Source:
2010 Federal Budget

Austerity is the wrong move
Harperite budget can only prolong the recession
By Mel Watkins
March 11, 2010
The Harper government's economic policy, as enunciated in the Throne Speech and the Budget, is properly described by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty as "stay the course" or business-as-usual (that is, what business wants business gets). That is, we are offered more of the same old neo-liberalism and globalization with wealth for the few and austerity for the many — with only a brief panic-stricken Keynesian moment — that got us into the messes we're in.

Deficit hysteria no excuse to end economic stimulus
By Hugh Mackenzie
March 2, 2010
As Canada's recession winds down, there is growing talk of housing and debt bubbles but there is an even bigger bubble that's set to burst. It's the Harper government bubble – that carefully crafted, out-of-touch universe our Prime Minister has been living in since recession threw hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of work.

The Déjà Vu
All Over Again Budget (PDF - 60K, 13 pages)
By Ken Battle, Sherri Torjman and Michael Mendelson
March 8, 2010
The 2010 federal Budget arrived with less drama than usual. Why? Because we have seen echoes of it before – notably last year in 2009, four years ago in 2006 and 15 years ago in 1995. The 2010 Budget is effectively the second year of the stimulus package introduced in 2009. There was a thin sprinkling of new measures in 2010 related to Employment Insurance, youth, First Nations education, the Registered Disability Savings Plan, the Enabling Accessibility Fund and New Horizons for seniors. Aside from that, the Budget was déjà vu...
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

Federal budget child-care tax break causes new headache for feds
By Heather Scoffield
March 10, 2010
OTTAWA — The federal budget's key anti-poverty measure cures one headache and causes another. Changes to the tax treatment of the $100-a-month Universal Child Care Benefit to help single-parent families "will create new inequities," says the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, an Ottawa-based think-tank known for its work on social security.
Source:
Canadian Press

CBC Federal Budget 2010 Coverage
March 4, 2010
- links to dozens of stories and features, including:
* Highlights * The deficit * Personal finance * Science and technology * Telecom * The Cylon Budget * Sports funding * The public service * Flaherty's frequent words * What they said * Economic snapshots * Spending cuts coming * much more...

CTV Federal Budget 2010 Coverage
March 4, 2010
- incl. links to the following articles and features:
* Budget fights deficit with freeze on future spending
* Tory deficit-slashing plan needs a lot of luck
* Opposition rejects budget, but no election talk
* Feds to reduce growth in defence spending
* Cheaper loonie production to save millions
* Environment, arts get short shrift in new budget
* Budget sets new bank rules for cheques, disputes
* Live Blog: Federal Budget 2010
* much more...

Budget 2010: Overview and summary
March 4, 2010
The Harper government’s 2010 Budget demonstrates a government that is devoid of new ideas. It is difficult to believe that they prorogued Parliament and then introduced a new budget with so little new and positive to show. This budget includes two major measures: another tax cut for business and ongoing cuts to federal public services. Tariffs will be eliminated on all manufacturing inputs at a cost estimated at $1.3 billion over five years. This is on top of further corporate tax cuts, previously announced, that will cost more than $20 billion over the next five years.
Source:
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is Canada’s largest union. With around 600 000 members across Canada, CUPE represents workers in health care, education, municipalities, libraries, universities, social services, public utilities, transportation, emergency services and airlines.

Federal Budget 2010 (PDF - 173K, 2 pages)
This is a status quo budget. While there are no unpleasant surprises for Ontario or provincial governments generally, long-standing structural shortcomings in programs such as Employment Insurance (EI) continue to fester.

Federal budget task: Fix Canada's job crisis
News Release
OTTAWA, March 1, 2010
Canada faces its worst job crisis in a generation and the federal government needs to step forward with a solution in this week's budget, says the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).Along with the release of its annual Alternative Federal Budget, the CCPA proposes a six-point job plan to get Canada working again.

Source:
Alternative Federal Budget 2010
[ Alternative Federal Budget Updates ] <=== dozens of links to related reports, studies, fact sheets, etc.
[ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates ]

Alternative Federal Budget Roundtable:
Recession, Recovery and Transformation
On November 18th, 2009, in Ottawa, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) held an event entitled "Recession, Recovery and Transformation: Meeting the policy challenges of our time." The event was filmed by CPAC (Canadian Parliamentary Affairs Channel), and it is split into three videos (in English and in French). Session titles and speakers/presenters/moderators appear below.

Session 1: From the Front lines of the Recession
- Andrew Jackson, Director of Economic and Social Policy with the Canadian Labour Congress
- Bruce Campbell, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- CCPA Inequality Project Director Trish Hennesy (moderator)
- Presenters:
* Teresa Healy, Senior Researcher, Canadian Labour Congress.
* Blair Redlin, Researcher, CUPE National
* Susanne Doerge, Coordinator, City for All Women Initiative
* John Andras, Chair, Recession Relief Coalition

Session2: What kind of recovery?
* Jim Stanford, Economist, Canadian Auto Workers
* Larry Mishel, President, Economic Policy Institute
* Katherine Scott, Canadian Council on Social Development

Session 3: Policies for a sustainable and transformative recovery
* Sheila Block, Research Director, Ontario Federation of Labour
* Armine Yalnizyan, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
* Marc Lee, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatvices BC

Keep stimulus money flowing: research group:
'The human recession continues'
March 1, 2010
The federal government should not turn off the taps on stimulus spending when it releases its budget later this week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said Monday. In its annual alternative budget, the independent research group said the country needs continued economic support.
NOTE: the comments section is often more enlightening reading than the article itself.
This article has over 200 comments, e.g.:
"$$$$$$$The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives....what the hell is that?! Who runs it, who controls it and last but not least, why do we need it? There seems to be a myriad of such vaguely named organizations..."
Source:
CBC

Budget 2010 – Building a Prosperous British Columbia (PDF - 215K, 2 pages)
News Release
VICTORIA — Setting the foundation for decades of renewed economic growth, protecting vital services, adding to British Columbia’s competitiveness and building on the tremendous momentum of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games are core elements of the 2010 provincial budget tabled in the B.C. Legislature today by Finance Minister Colin Hansen.

• New Support for Communities, Families, and Youth (PDF - 112K, 2 pages)
--- Full-day kindergarten for every five-year-old in the province by September 2011
--- Extra $26 million in funding over three years to support child care programs for low- and moderate-income families
--- New Property Tax Deferral Program for Families with Children

Budget 2010 Consultations
- links to two reports from the Nov/Dec 2009 provincial government's budget consultations

Disability Community Stunned by Provincial Cuts to Crucial Medical Goods and Services
March 5, 2010
VANCOUVER – People with disabilities who are already struggling to manage on provincial disability benefits have been told by the Province it will no longer pay for some of the medically essential items and services they depend on. Beginning April 1st, the Province will no longer fund a range of health items including pre-made foot orthotics, diabetic glucometers and a bottled water supplement of $20 a month for people with conditions such as HIV/AIDS.
[NOTE: After clicking the link above, you'll have to scroll to the bottom of the page to read the entire news release. The first part of the page is a more detailed list of the cuts.]
Source:
BC Coalition of People with Disabilities
For over 30 years, the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) has been a provincial, cross-disability voice in British Columbia. Our mission is to raise awareness around issues that affect the lives of people who live with a disability.

BC Budget 2010 strong on sentiment, weak on vision
March 2, 2010
Iglika Ivanova and Marc Lee spent the day in Victoria at the budget lock-up, and have just posted their initial analysis of today's budget on Policy Note. They write: "For a document titled Building a Prosperous British Columbia, the 2010 BC Budget is underwhelming in its ambition. Budget 2010 shows a government talking a lot about the legacy of the Olympics but lacking any coherent vision of how to translate upbeat sentiments into real improvements in British Columbians’ standard of living."
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.

March 2, 2010
Budget 2010
Premier Campbell and his government took a major dive in public opinion polls when British Columbians learned in July about the HST, not mentioned during the election, and about the true size of the deficit, misrepresented during the election. Is there any reason to think the Campbell government is more credible now than it was during last year's election? Evidence from the March 2nd budget suggests they've learned nothing.
Source:
Strategic Thoughts - website of David Schreck

B.C. Finance Minister promises turnaround
March 2, 2010
B.C. Finance Minister Colin Hansen says his government wants to capitalize on the momentum of the 2010 Winter Olympics to pull B.C. out of the global economic downturn. Hansen laid out his economic blueprint for the province in the legislature in Victoria on Tuesday afternoon, highlighting his plans to increase B.C.’s business competitiveness, maintain social services, bring down the deficit and balance the budget by the 2013-14 fiscal year
Source:
CBC British Columbia

Alberta Budget 2010, Striking the Right Balance (budget home page)
February 9, 2010

Detailed Budget Documents
- includes links to:
* Budget Speech * Highlights * 2010-13 Fiscal Plan * 2010-13 Government and Ministry Business Plans *
2010-11 Government and Legislative Assembly Estimates

News Releases:

* Budget 2010 strikes the right balance by focusing on Albertans' priorities while limiting spending
Health, education and vulnerable Albertans remain budget priorities
February 9, 2010
Budget highlights:
* $1.3 billion in savings found through cross-ministry spending review
* Cost savings re-invested in and new money added to priority areas:
o $1.7-billion increase for ongoing health programs; AHS deficit paid off
o $250-million increase for school boards
o Benefit levels maintained for recipients of Alberta Seniors Benefit and Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped
o Funding remains at $597 million for Persons with Developmental Disabilities program
* Alberta’s competitive advantage supported and enhanced:
o $20.1-billion investment in infrastructure over three years
o No tax increases; taxes remain lowest overall in Canada
* $38.7 billion forecast total expense in 2010-11; $34.0 billion forecast revenue in 2010-11
* $4.7-billion deficit forecast for 2010-11; $505-million surplus forecast in 2012-13
* Savings in Sustainability Fund used to offset deficits

* Budget summary by ministry (PDF - 65K, 10 pages)
February 9, 2010

* News releases, charts and graphs

* What's in the Budget for Albertans
with lower incomes, seniors and Albertans in need?

- Seniors supports:
o $326 million for the Alberta Seniors Benefit an increase of $14 million or 4.5% from 2009-10. The Benefit supports 144,000 low-income seniors.
o $133 million, an increase of $9.6 million or 7.8%, for Seniors Lodge Assistance, the Dental and Optical Assistance Program, Special Needs Assistance and School Property Tax Assistance programs.

- Support for low –income Albertans:
o $113 million to help 80,000 Albertans with a long-term disability, chronic illness or terminal illness to maintain their independence by providing financial assistance for medical equipment and supplies.
o $450 million for Alberta Works income support programs

[ Alberta budgets for earlier years ]

Source:
Alberta Finance and Enterprise

_________________________________________

Budget analysis/critique:

Critics united in condemnation
'Robbing Peter to pay Paul'; Health funding hike comes at expense of other essential services
By Diana Gibson And Ricardo Acuna
February 11, 2010
Although initial reaction to the provincial budget by pundits and media focused on the increase in spending overall and to health spending and infrastructure in particular, a deeper look at the numbers reveals the real price of those increases and raises serious concerns about long-term fiscal management in this province.
Source:
Edmonton Journal
[ Authors Ricardo Acuna and Diana Gibson are directors of the Parkland Institute, a non-partisan social policy research institute based at the University of Alberta. ]

---

Critic says Alta. budget will spike homelessness
By Kristy Brownlee
February 10, 2010
Alberta is off-track on its promise to end homelessness and more people may be forced to live on the streets, says a critic after budget 2010 was revealed Tuesday. “The choice to cut housing dollars disproportionately to other areas of government is an unfortunate one and it’s going to hurt a lot of vulnerable Albertans,” said John Kolkman, research co-ordinator with the Edmonton Social Planning Council, a non-profit group focused on social research.
Source:
Edmonton Sun

- 2010 Canadian Government Budgets -

- Budgets des gouvernements canadiens pour 2010 -