Canadian Social Research Links

- 2008 Canadian Government Budgets -

Sites de recherche sociale au Canada

- Budgets 2008 des gouvernements canadiens -

Updated January 16, 2009
Page révisée le 16 janvier 2009

[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2010
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2009
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2008

Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2007
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2006
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2005
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2004


For U.S. Budget Links, go to the
Links to American Government Social Research Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm

2008 Canadian Government Budget links


NOTE: I don't check the links on this archive page to ensure that they're still active, so you'll definitely find some that are dead...

Click on the links below to jump directly to a specific section further down on this page, or scroll down the page to find links to the following:
(You can click on your browser's BACK button to return here if you select a link below

 


Links in this box will take you to budget information (budget papers + analysis) further down on the page you're now reading:

* Canada:
Economic and Fiscal Statement 2008 (Nov. 27/08)

* Northwest Territories Budget 2008 - May 22
* Nova Scotia Budget 2008
- April 29
* Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2008
- April 29
* Prince Edward Island Budget 2008
- April 23
* Alberta Budget 2008
- April 22
* Surpluses across the board (article by Tom Courchene)
* Manitoba Budget 2008 -
April 9
* Ontario Budget
- March 25
* Yukon Budget
- March 20
* Saskatchewan Budget
- March 19
* New Brunswick Budget - March 18
*Québec Budget - March 13
*
Federal Budget - February 26
* Nunavut Budget - February 20
* British Columbia Budget 2008
- February 20, 2008
***
The links below are organized in reverse chronological order, with the most recent budget at the top of the list.


The links below are direct links to provincial /territorial government budget websites.

* (April 29, 2008)
[ ]

* (April 23, 2008)
[includes links to PEI budgets for earlier years ]

* (April 29, 2008)
[ ]

* (March 18, 2008) []

* (March 13, 2008) [ ]
[ ]

* (March 25, 208) [ ]
[includes links to Ontario budgets for earlier years ]

* (April 9, 2008) [ ]
[ ]


* (March 19, 2008)
[ ]

* (April 22, 2008)
[ ]

* (February 19, 2008)
[ ]

* (May 22, 2008)

* (March 20, 2008)
[ ]

* (February 20, 2008)
[ ]

* : Economic and Fiscal Statement 2008 (Nov. 27/08)
*
: Budget 2008 (February 26, 2008)
[ ]


Canada : Economic and Fiscal Statement 2008 - November 27


News Release
November 27, 2008
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today announced in his 2008 Economic and Fiscal Statement that the Government will take actions to restrain spending, protect Canada’s hard-won fiscal advantage and reinforce the stability of our financial system amid this period of global economic uncertainty.

Related Documents:

Economic and Fiscal Statement 2008
November 27, 2008

Complete report:
- includes links to individual Chapters (1. Recent Economic Developments and Prospects - 2. Responsible Leadership: Actions to Strengthen Canada's Economic and Financial Fundamentals - 3. Fiscal Projections) and to Annexes (1. Canada's Total Government Fiscal Performance - 2. Draft Legislation and Explanatory Notes: Reduced 2008 Minimum Withdrawal Amount in respect of Registered Retirement Income Funds and Variable Benefits under a Registered Pension Plan)
(2.2MB, 127 pages)

Related link:

(February 26, 2008)

Source:

- Go to the Federal Government Department Links (Agriculture to Finance) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/fedbkmrk.htm

Northwest Territories Budget - May 22

Northwest Territories Budget
May 22, 2008
*
* (PDF)
* (PDF)
See also:

Source:

- Go to the Northwest Territories Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ntbkmrk.htm

 

Nova Scotia Budget 2008 - April 29


April 29, 2008
- incl. links to all budget papers

(PDF - 84K, 2 pages)
(...) Healthy Communities
* $19 million this year - and $160 million over eight years - will go toward quality, affordable child care This includes an investment of $6 million to develop about 250 more child care spaces
* $31.7 million toward the Family Pharmacare Program will make prescription drugs affordable for as many as 180,000 Nova Scotians who have had no drug coverage in the past


- links to six news related releases including :
* Tax Relief for Nova Scotians * Helping Nova Scotians Stay Warm * Nova Scotia's Commitment to Debt Reduction * Budget Address * 2008-09 Budget Overview


Source:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Nova Scotia, 2008 budget"
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Nova Scotia Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nsbkmrk.htm

Newfoundland and Labrador Budget 2008 - April 29


April 29, 2008
- incl. links to all budget papers


(...)
- Lifting from Poverty
* Investment of $12 million this year ($17.3 million annualized) for a total of more than $100 million annually in the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Examples include:
* $1.7 million to support youth at risk
* $1 million to improve access to healthy food and community activities
* $1.5 million for the extension of the Make Work Pay Workplace Connections initiative to cover all income support clients who join the labour market
* $2.4 million to index basic income support benefits effective April 1, 2008
* Expanding the Employment Transition Project for single parents through an investment of $128,000
* $470,000 investment in community-based workplace skills training and a micro-lending program
* $1.4 million to improve access to housing, particularly for seniors and those working for low wages
* $40,000 to increase operating grants to eight Status of Women’s centres
* $279,000 to establish a Family Violence Treatment Court pilot project
* $1.5 million in improvements to Income Support benefits
* Funding of $254,900 to expand the Child, Youth and Family Civil Legal Aid Project to the Western region
* $126,300 for civil legal aid support for persons required to make a court appearance under the Mental Health Act
(...)

- links to 11 news releases related to Budget 2008
..including:

The Williams Government continues to act on its commitment to alleviate, prevent and reduce poverty in the province with new measures that focus on improving earned incomes, strengthening the social safety net and supporting youth at risk. Budget 2008 provides an additional $9.6 million in new Poverty Reduction Strategy initiatives and this funding is in addition to the $2.4 million announced April 1 to index basic income support rates. That brings the total investment in the current fiscal year to $12 million and once fully implemented in 2009-10, the Provincial Government’s annual investment in poverty reduction will be more than $100 million.

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Newfoundland and Labrador , 2008 budget"
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Newfoundland and Labrador Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nfbkmrk.htm

Prince Edward Island Budget 2008 - April 23


April 23, 2008
- includes the Budget Address and supporting documents (Highlights - Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure - Capital Estimates), as well as links to previous PEI budgets back to 1997

(PDF - 1.9MB, 11 pages)

Source:

Related links:


April 24, 2008
A plan to replace five government-owned seniors care manors on P.E.I. was the highlight of new health spending announced in Wednesday's budget.
Source:


Most of the spending targets are worthy ones, but did government need to go into the red?
April 24, 2008
"(...) planning for a $34.9-million deficit for 2008-09 is hardly a lofty goal..."
Source:
(Charlottetown PEI)

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Prince Edward Island, 2008 budget"
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Prince Edward Island Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/pebkmrk.htm

Alberta Budget 2008 - April 22


April 22, 2008
- NOTE: in addition to links to budget documents, this page presents detailed budget highlights for the following areas (click on any plus sign (+) or link on that page for more info):
* Communities * Businesses * The environment * First Nations and Métis Settlements * Parents * K-12 students * Post-secondary students * People with disabilities * Albertans with lower incomes, seniors, and Albertans in need * Affordable housing * Farmers * Community groups and the arts * Tax cuts * Surplus and savings


Further investments made in programs for families, seniors, people with disabilities, children, and new Albertans
News Release
April 22, 2008
Budget highlights:
* $76 million more for quality, affordable child care
* $46 million more for affordable supportive living for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities
* $58.5 million more for housing targeting lower-income Albertans and homeless people
* $41 million more for increased support to contracted social agencies
* $15.3 million more in supports to help immigrants, including $1.8 million more in settlement services
* $12.5 million more in resources to address Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
* $3.5 million more in support for community-based social programs

Source:

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Alberta budget 2008"
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Alberta Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/abkmrk.htm

This just in: surpluses across the board (Thomas Courchene) - April 2008

(PDF - 163K, 3 pages)
By Thomas J. Courchene
April 2008
[Abstract] The achievement of budgetary surpluses in Ottawa and in all provinces and territories simultaneously was 60 years in the making. This brief commentary on budgetary federalism adapts the informative charts in Budget 2008 and traces the fiscal/budgetary fortunes of the two levels of government over the past two decades. The near collapse of provincial finances in the wake of the 1995 budget has now been offset by a huge influx of federal cash transfers (Canada Health Transfer, Canada Social Transfer and equalization) and by resource revenues. When combined with federal tax cuts, the result is that the excess of provincial over federal revenues has never been larger.

Source:
(free online magazine)
[
(IRPP) ]

Manitoba Budget - April 9

From the :


[ ]
April 9, 2008
- incl. links to * Minister's Budget Message * Speech * Budget In Brief * Budget and Budget Papers * Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue * Tax Savings Estimator * News Releases

April 9, 2008

Province Continues to Invest in Skills Training, Doctors, Nurses, Police Officers

News Release
Budget 2008 charts a steady economic course with strategic tax cuts for manufacturers, small businesses and families, boosts skills training, saves for the future and makes key investments in more doctors, nurses, police officers, water protection and climate change, Finance Minister Greg Selinger said today.
[ - April 9]


(Excerpt)
Healthy Families, Healthy Communities
· Investing $16.6 million more in housing through HOMEWorks!
· Providing new funding for people making the transition to employment.
· Investing an additional $5 million in child care to provide more spaces, a new training and recruitment fund and higher wages.
· Providing $3.5 million to extend the Manitoba Shelter Benefit to help single adults and couples on income assistance and to support a pilot project for individuals with mental health challenges.
· Increasing the supported-living program by $12.4 million.
· Adding $23 million to continue making changes to better protect Manitoba children.
· Supporting young adults affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in the areas of housing, education and training, recreation, crisis services, family connections and mentoring.
· Increasing Children’s Special Services funding by six per cent to $23.7 million for physical, speech and language, and occupational therapies and services.

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Manitoba budget 2008"
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Manitoba Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/mbkmrk.htm

Ontario Budget - March 25


March 25, 2008
- includes links to all budget papers and the following backgrounders : * Economic Plan * Education * Health * Infrastructure * Key sectors * Rural and Northern Ontario * Quality of Life * Skills

Government Creating Opportunities for Better Jobs and Stronger Communities
News Release
March 25, 2008


- includes papers with info on investments in: skills - infrastructure - competitiveness - innovation - business and industry sectors - education - health - children and families - postsecondary education - the environment.


- budget-at-a-glance : detailed table of contents with links to specific sections of all budget papers on one page, including:

The government’s Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction, chaired by the Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services, will focus on expanding opportunities for those living in poverty. It will develop a focused poverty reduction strategy with measures, indicators and reasonable targets by the end of 2008. The Committee will review how best to organize and align the current system of supports to ensure more effective investment and more efficient administration. The government will work with communities and other governments to expand opportunity for all Ontarians and reduce poverty over the long term.
- includes info on the following early initiatives under the Poverty Reduction Strategy : * Dental Care for Low-Income Families * Student Nutrition Program * Parenting and Family Literacy Centres * Making Education More Affordable
Source:
- also includes info on : * Investing in Social Housing * Asset-Building Strategy for Low-Income Ontarians * Increased Support for Social Assistance * Minimum Wage * Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grants * Ontario Property and Sales Tax Credits for Seniors * more...

(chart and descriptive text)
"(...) proposing to increase the basic adult allowance and maximum shelter allowance by two per cent in 2008–09."

Source:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related links:


Other measures include 2% welfare hike, funds for dental care, student nutrition, social housing repairs
March 26, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
A new $10 million pilot program to help low-income Ontarians save for an education or start a business is key to helping the financially vulnerable build assets and escape poverty, social activists say.
Source:

[ ]


By Jeffrey Simpson
March 26, 2008
Ontario has little room to manoeuvre, given slow growth, weakening exports, a high dollar, an infrastructure deficit, a relentless health-care budget, and a drain on its resources from six provinces through equalization and federal transfers. Under these trying circumstances, Premier Dalton McGuinty's government did well to balance the budget (again), keep spending below revenue growth, put additional money in sensible places, nibble at corporate taxes, and reject simplistic advice from the Harper government.
Source:

March 25, 2008
The anti-poverty coalition Campaign 2000 is encouraged to see the Ontario 2008 budget include a number of measures that reflect the Government’s commitment to address poverty.These include: $1.5 billion over 3 years for skills and education initiatives; $100 million to rehabilitate social housing; $135 million over 3 years for dental services for low income Ontarians, and a 2% increase to social assistance rates.
Source:

Also from Campaign 2000:


February 26, 2008
The federal budget passed up the chance to offer the almost 800,000 children living in poverty in Canada a shot at a better life, says Campaign 2000, the national coalition of over 120 partners working to end child and family poverty in Canada.


Mar 26th, 2008 by Michael Shapcott
Ontario’s 2008 Budget is long on language, but short where it counts the most: The dollars fall short of the words. Budgets are about choices and, fundamentally, budgets are about dollars. The real choices are revealed in the spending and revenue columns.
Source:


March 26, 2008
Despite the signal that this Ontario budget would focus on poverty, the McGuinty government has missed the mark, said Sid Ryan, the Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). "Corporations are getting a $750 million tax cut while the poor get $167 million, and barely the rate of inflation for social assistance benefits. Minimum wage workers will still need to wait to 2010 to get a hand out of poverty. Guess who won this war?”
Source:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Ontario, 2008 Provincial Budget":
-
-
-
Source:

-----------------------

Pre-Budget:

(PDF file - 46K, 4 pages)
January 21, 2008
Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance & Economic Affairs Pre-Budget Hearings
Queen’s Park, Toronto
Presented by Jacquie Maund, Coordinator,

(small PDF file, 1 page)
Media Release
January 21, 2008
TORONTO, ON, January 21 – The McGuinty government should seize the opportunity of the 2008 budget to take initial steps on a Poverty Reduction Strategy for Ontario, said Campaign 2000, a 55 Ontario partner coalition working to end child and family poverty, in a pre-budget submission today.
Source:


January 22, 2008
By Thomas Walkom
With an economic recession almost certainly in the offing, Canadians will have to conquer their fear of government deficits. Deficit financing – allowing governments to temporarily spend more than they take in – has been anathema since the early '90s. That's the last time Canada faced a serious recession. It's also when economic conservatism reached its high-water mark. Backed by the financial press, a powerful coalition of interests managed to convince all major political parties that government spending was the biggest danger facing Canada.
Source:

- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

Yukon Budget - March 20


March 20, 2008
- incl. links to : Budget Address - Budget Highlights - Financial Information
- Projections - Operation and Maintenance Estimates - Capital Estimates

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"yukon budget "
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Yukon Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/yk.htm

Saskatchewan Budget - March 19


March 19, 2008
Scroll down the page for links to the following budget documents:
2008-09 Budget Summary - 2008-09 Estimates - 2008-09 Highlights Card (40 fulfilled commitments) - 2008-09 Financial Highlight - Budget Address

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"saskatchewan budget "
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Saskatchewan Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/skbkmrk.htm

New Brunswick Budget - March 18


- March 18, 2008
The Budget was tabled in the New Brunswick Legislature by Victor Boudreau, Minister of Finance on March 18, 2008.
- incl. links to : Budget Speech - News release - The New Brunswick Economy - Main Estimates

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"new brunswick, budget "
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the New Brunswick Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbkmrk.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Nouveau-Brunswick : http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nbf.htm

Québec Budget - March 13

(March 13, 2008)

* (PDF file - 44 pages, 657 Kb)
* (PDF file - 362 pages, 1.93 Mb)
*
(PDF file - 196 pages, 2.52 Mb)
*

[]


March 13, 2008
Quebec's minority Liberal government tabled a $62.9-billion budget Thursday aimed at boosting the economy, helping seniors and families, and keeping an election at bay.
Source:

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"quebec budget "
-
-
-
Source:

- Go to the Québec Links (English) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qce.htm
- Rendez-vous à la page de liens de recherche sociale au Québec: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/qcbkmrk.htm

Nunavut Budget

(February 20, 2008)
- incl. links to the budget speech, highlights and background papers

- Go to the Nunavut Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/nunavut.htm

2008 Federal Government Budget - February 26
Information and analysis by: * CBC * CTV * The Toronto Star: * The Globe and Mail * Canadian Labour Congress * Progressive Economics Forum * Canadian Union of Public Employees * Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives * Wellesley Institute * Centre for Research on Globalization * Canadian Business Online - Conference Board of Canada - Financial Post - C.D. Howe Institute


February 26, 2008
- links to all budget documents
- includes links to earlier federal budgets back to 1994
Source:

[ ]


News Release
March 14, 2008
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, today introduced legislation in the House of Commons to implement key measures from Budget 2008. The bill also includes language to protect the Government’s fiscal plan from the effects of Bill C-253.
- incl. * the new Tax-Free Savings Account starting in 2009 * the new consolidated Canada Student Grant Program * streamlining and modernizing the Canada Student Loans Program, modernizing the immigration system, improving the management and governance of the Employment Insurance (EI) program (through the creation of the Canada Employment Insurance Financing Board), providing $110 million to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to support five innovative demonstration projects across the country, increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement earnings exemption for working seniors, and more...
Source:

----------------------------------------------------
Related links and selected reviews:
----------------------------------------------------

From the :


- includes highlights of changes by target group : * Individuals and Families * Students * Seniors * Aboriginal Canadians * Immigrants * Businesses * Farmers * Security * The Environment * Research and Development * Sports and Culture


Sound bites and brief reactions to the budget from the following:
* Jim Flaherty, federal minister of finance * Stephane Dion, leader, Liberal Party of Canada * Jack Layton, leader, new Democratic Party of Canada * Jay Myers, president, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters * Marc Lee, senior economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives * Buzz Hargrove, president, Canadian Auto Workers * Michael Roschlau, president, Canadian Urban Transit Institute * Avrim Lazar, president, Forest Products Association of Canada * Joanne De Laurentiis, president, Investment Funds Institute of Canada * Gord Steeves, president, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities * Amanda Aziz, national chair, Canadian Federation of Students * Dwight Duncan, minister of finance, Ontario


Reactions of average Canadians to the 2008 federal budget
Scroll down the page to see comments (232 comments as of 9am Feb. 28) sent in by email, and/or
- CBC invites you to write in (anonymously) to say how this budget will affect you and your family.

---------------------------------------

From :



- incl. links to the Budget Speech and highlights, winners and losers, "Flashback" ("An interactive look at the federal budget's path from deficit to surplus), budget links, budget jargon, and much more...

---------------------------------------

From :


- includes a ton of articles plus commentary by :
* Thomas Walkom * Chantal Hébert * David Olive * James Travers * Chantal Hébert * Albert Koehl * Carol Goar


February 28, 2008
By Tanya Talaga
The introduction of a tax-free savings account is hailed by some anti-poverty advocates as a big, first incentive to low-income earners to save money intended to be free of government clawbacks. Others say the special savings account is just another way for the rich to get richer.

---------------------------------------

From the :


$6-billion over three years; New tax shelter and sprinkling of economic aid; Dion vows not to vote it down
Thriftiest federal budget since Ottawa balanced its books 11 years ago includes new tax shelter and sprinkling of economic aid; Dion vows not to vote it down.

---------------------------------------

From the :


The centrepiece of the Budget is a new tax exempt savings vehicle which (...) will eventually cost billions in lost revenues, but only pennies will go to ordinary working families who manage to save very little outside of pensions and RRSPs.

---------------------------------------

From the :

Budget notes from three of the forum's regular contributors:
*
* *

---------------------------------------

From the :


Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set very low expectations for the Harper government’s third budget – and managed to deliver even less.

---------------------------------------

From the :


The minority Conservative government has let Canadians down with a budget short on the vision and leadership needed to address the most pressing issues of our time.

---------------------------------------

From the :

---------------------------------------

From :
(Centre for Research on Globalization)

March 1, 2008
"(...) Canada's 2008 Federal Budget [...] clearly states that if you work for a low or modest wage or salary, live in an urban centre, are women or a member of our First Nations, then you have lost.

---------------------------------------

From :


The federal finance minister offers meager aid to embattled business sectors

---------------------------------------

From :

A weaker economic outlook, coupled with the aggressive tax cuts contained in the government’s October 2007 Economic Statement, has constrained the ability of the federal government to introduce significant budget initiatives.

---------------------------------------

From :


February 27, 2008
By William Robson and Colin Busby
Colin Busby and William Robson of the C.D. Howe Institute question in Wednesday's Financial Post why governments bother announcing budgets, since history shows they have a poor record of following them.

Also from the Financial Post:

Finn Poschmann
February 27, 2008
The 2008 federal budget, tabled yesterday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, contains a tax policy gem. The new budget, expected to pass through Parliament, proposes a Tax-Free Savings Account, which would be the most significant, positive innovation in Canada's tax treatment of savings since Registered Retirement Savings Plans in 1957. The new TFSA would allow people to save up to $5,000 per year, out of after-tax income, and to pay no further taxes on those funds or their returns.

Related link:

(PDF file - 175K, 47 pages)
February 2001
Jonathan Kesselman
Finn Poschmann
Source:

---------------------------------------

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Canada, 2008 Federal Budget "
-
-
-
Source:

---------------------------------------

(from )
Fair's fair.
Because I included a link to a gallery of photos of Carole Taylor (BC Finance Minister) when , I felt compelled to include this link to a gallery of the federal Finance Minister.
[I'm weird that way. You're weird only if you click the link.]

------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------


A Budget Canadians Can Count On
February 25, 2008


Press Release
February 25, 2008
OTTAWA – The Stephen Harper government needs to give up its tax cut addiction and invest in solutions to pressing problems facing Canadians, says the 2008 Alternative Federal Budget (AFB), released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. AFB 2008 calls the minority government on its irresponsible $190 billion tax cut giveaway (made in two short years) and presents a budget that addresses environmental and economic sustainability – without plunging Canada into a fiscal deficit.

* Alternative Federal Budget 2008: A Budget Canadians Can Count On
(PDF file - 2MB, 114 pages)
(PDF File - 199K, 8 pages)

Source:

-------------------------------------------

(PDF file - 120K, 8 pages)
On Tuesday (Feb. 26), Federal Finance Minister James Flaherty will deliver the 2008 budget.
Michael Shapcott, Director of Community Engagement, reviews three key federal programs affecting housing and homelessness with a focus on key issues and solutions.
Source:

-------------------------------------------

From :

February 23, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Premier Dalton McGuinty wants the federal government to use next Tuesday's budget to fix a problem that is keeping $1.7 billion out of the hands of Ontario unemployed workers. But the chances are it won't happen, despite a $50 billion surplus in the Employment Insurance program. McGuinty has been vociferous in complaining about how Ontario's unemployed workers are treated differently than those in other provinces.

February 23, 2008
By Les Whittington
OTTAWA–Ontarians facing the threat of a recession will keep a nervous eye on Tuesday's federal budget to see if the Conservatives will deal with an Employment Insurance program that leaves the province's jobless lagging far behind other Canadians.


[ ]
- January 14, 2008
This consultation started on January 14 and ended on February 11

Pre-budget consultation documents:
*
* – News Release (January 14, 2008) - see above
* : Deputy Minister Rob Wright’s January 10, 2008 Media Briefing Presentation on the Economy
* (2006-07) - Multimedia Presentation
* (Slideshow, January 2008)

Source:

[

------------------------------------------------------------


Press Release
January 14, 2008
OTTAWA—A decade of federal budget surpluses could come to an end if an economic slowdown materializes in 2008, says a technical paper for the Alternative Federal Budget, published today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. According to the study, the federal government’s Economic and Fiscal Update, which calls for surpluses as far as the eye can see, does not fully consider the very real possibility of an economic downturn. The study stress-tests the government’s numbers and finds it would not take much of a drop in economic growth before the budget returned to deficit.

Complete study:

- PDF File, 159K, 8 pages
January 2008

Source:

2008 British Columbia Government Budget


February 19, 2008
Budget home page, includes links to all budget papers, backgrounders, the Government's Fiscal Plan and Strategic Plan, along with Ministry and Crown Agency Service Plans and Estimates of proposed spending by ministry and government agency for the coming fiscal year.


News Release
February 19, 2008
VICTORIA — wide range of new measures to address climate change, promote greener choices, and encourage economic investment will allow British Columbia to meet the challenges of the future, Finance Minister Carole Taylor announced with the release of Balanced Budget 2008.

Budget Highlights

(1.6MB)

Budget Speech

(218K)


[ scroll to the bottom half of the page for links to the following backgrounders: ]
• Fiscal Plan 2008/09-2010/11
• B.C.’s Revenue-neutral Carbon Tax
• $1 Billion for Climate Action
• Investing in B.C.’s Economic Competitiveness
• Illustrations of Tax Impacts 2009


".. provides an overview of every ministry and Crown agency, including how they intend to achieve their service goals and how they support the direction laid out in the Government Strategic Plan."
- recommended reading if you want to know what each of the ministries is planning for the next three years.
Here (below) are service plans for the ministries responsible for welfare and children's services in British Columbia (follow to access other ministries' service plans).

Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance
Service Plan, 2008/2009 to 2010/2011
(ministry responsible for welfare)
(the table of contents is in the left margin of the page)
(404K, 32 pages)

(PDF file - 268K, 14 pages)
The following resources support the Ministry’s 2008/09 – 2010/11 Service Plan.
Appendix 1: Services Map
Appendix 2: Service Code and Organizational Values
Appendix 3: Service Standards
Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms
Appendix 5: What Benefits Do Clients Retain When They Leave Income Assistance For Work?
NOTE: if you're interested in the "welfare wall" effect (i.e., the loss of non-cash benefits such as supplementary health and dental benefits when someone leaves welfare for a job), I highly recommend this appendix.
Appendix 6: Performance Measure Methodologies

Ministry of Children and Family Development
Service Plan, 2008/2009 to 2010/2011
(the table of contents is in the left margin of the page)
(315K, 26 pages)

*
*
*

- Special!

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"2008 British Columbia Budget"



Source:


Winners: Banks, oil, roads. Losers: Schools, wild salmon.
By Andrew MacLeod
February 20, 2008

Finance Minister Carole Taylor's new Fluevogs were green, her dress was green and the budget documents she presented in Victoria were wrapped in green covers. The theme, in Taylor's words, was clear: "We promised you green and today we delivered green." It is, however, worth taking a closer look. The budget delivered the expected carbon tax, a move applauded by several environmentalists, but there is plenty of brown in the background. And the budget does little to address chronic underfunding in several areas, making B.C. less sustainable.
Source:

Related Canadian Social Research Links pages:

Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2010
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2009
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2008

Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2007
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2006
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2005
Go to Canadian Government Budgets 2004


CANADIAN SOCIAL RESEARCH LINKS HOME PAGE
  PAGE D'ACCUEIL - SITES DE RECHERCHE SOCIALE AU CANADA


Search the Web Search Canadian Social Research Links Only
TIP:
How to Search for a Word or Expression on a Single Web Page 

Open any web page in your browser, then hold down the Control ("Ctrl") key on your keyboard and type the letter F to open a "Find" window. Type or paste in a key word or expression and hit Enter - your browser will go directly to the first occurrence of that word (or those exact words, as the case may be). To continue searching using the same keyword(s) throughout the rest of the page, keep clicking on the FIND NEXT button.
Try it. It's a great time-saver!
 
Site created and maintained by:
Gilles Séguin (This link takes you to my personal page)