Statement on Federal Budget by National Chief Phil Fontaine:
First Nations not included in a “Stronger, Better” Canada - From the AFN Website

Today's budget was supposed to contain something for all Canadians, but today, First Nations are beyond disappointment. We don't see any reason to believe that the government cares about the shameful conditions of First Nations. We have tried dialogue and tabled a rational plan to address it. The only thing missing is a commitment from the federal government.

Analysis by the Canadian Labour Congress

Overview

Budget 2007 erodes the federal government’s capacity to improve the lives of working people. Tax cuts will benefit profitable corporations without increasing investment in the Canadian economy. The federal government will continue subsidizing oil-sands extraction for nearly a decade. Increased transfers to provincial governments may serve important public purposes, but the Budget’s general thrust is to reduce the proportion of Canada’s economic resources devoted to such purposes.

The former Liberal government balanced the budget by reducing federal spending to its lowest level, relative to the economy, since the 1950s. It then held spending at this level, devoting almost all surplus dollars to tax cuts and debt repayment. Both of the subsequent Conservative budgets (2006 and 2007) continued this strategy of shrinking the Canadian state.

Budget 2007 proposes to reduce federal revenues, as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), from 16.4% in 2004-05 to 15.5% in 2008-09. Federal program expenditure, including transfers to provincial governments, will be reduced from 13.7% to 13.2% of GDP during the same period.

Budget 2007 projects surpluses of $9.2 billion for 2006-07, $3.3 billion for 2007-08 and $3.0 billion for 2008-09, all of which will be devoted to debt repayment. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which has been far more accurate than Finance Canada in forecasting federal surpluses, projects that tax cuts may eliminate future surpluses and require deep spending cuts. So far, federal revenues have grown faster than anticipated because the incomes of the rich, which are taxed at relatively higher rate, and corporate profits have been increasing more rapidly than expected. In this context, corporate-tax reductions may seriously undermine fiscal capacity.

Candian Council for International Cooperation

International development organizations say that the Harper government has failed to meet its promises to increase funding to address global poverty. The 2007 Federal Budget indicated that $315 million would be added to ODA for this current year, 2006/07, but identified no new funding initiatives for 2007/08. The 2007 budget continues the performance of previous governments-increasing aid spending by 8%. But, the budget fails to improve Canada's foreign aid spending, a key promise of the Prime Minister during the last election.

OTTAWA – In spite of its claims, the latest Conservative budget is not going to make Canada better or safer, nor will it make it fairer, according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

“The federal budget proposes to establish a $25-million office to foster public-private partnerships (P3s), when what Canadians need and deserve are quality public services that are publicly funded and delivered,” says PSAC National President John Gordon.

On March 15, the annual survey of the ten worst polluters was released by Pollution Watch (www.pollutionwatch.org) and Saskatchewan was ranked as the third worst province in Canada for releasing pollutants into the environment in 2005. Sask Power's Boundary Dam Power Generating Station was given the further distinction of being the 5th biggest single point source for pollution in Canada.  When it is limited to carbon dioxide emissions, Saskatchewan is ranked seventh in Canada.  Not surprisingly, Alberta is the worst.