Finance Minister Jim Flaherty started selling the budget bright and early Friday, hours after he tabled the 2010 Federal Budget in the House of Commons.
The big event of the day for Flaherty is a lunchtime speech at the London (Ont.) Chamber of Commerce. His speech there begins at about 12:20 pm local time.
On the way there early this morning, he did a radio interview with 680 News from his car. That was followed with another radio interview with CJAD. He then arrived at a Tim Horton's in London and, from that location, did some television appearances on CTV's Canada AM, the Business News Network, A Channel and CBC News Network.
Still at Tim's, he did more radio interviews with CFRB and CBC Toronto's Metro Morning. Then, on the way to his hotel, he did another radio interview, withToronto station AM 640. At the hotel he did CHML in Hamilton, The House for CBC, John Gormley's radio show in Saskatchewan, local Oshawa CHEX TV, CJOB from Winnipeg, Maritime Morning from Halifax, The Dave Rutherford Show from Calgary and Bill Good's Radio Show from Vancouver
Meanwhile, my e-mail inbox like, I suspect, most reporters on the Hill, is filling up with reaction from dozens of groups, pundits, and other interested parties. So far, here's the pile I've divided them up into:
Like it:
- TRIUMF: “This federal budget highlights Canada’s commitment to putting Canadians at the international forefronts of research and innovation.”
- University of Western Ontario: “We appreciate the strong signal the federal government continues to send that research and innovation are important to building Canada’s future, particularly in these challenging economic times.”
- Conference Board of Canada: “Budget 2010 steers the federal government back onto the straight and narrow road toward fiscal balance.”
- Polytechnics Canada: “… appreciates the federal government's new investments in applied research, development and commercialization, particularly the sustaining funding for the very successful College and Community Innovation Program.”
- Certified Management Accountants
- BIOTECanada [PDF]: “Removing administrative barriers under the Canada-US Tax Treaty for investors such as non-resident venture capital funds are a welcome change.”
- Native Women's Association of Canada: “… is encouraged by the federal government’s pledge of 10 million dollars in funding over a period of two years, to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada.”
- Certified General Accountants Association of Canada: “Although it includes no major initiatives, the Finance Minister introduced a budget that lays the groundwork for economic recovery and emphasizes productivity and innovation.”
- Canadian Arts Coalition: “…pleased to see that arts and culture investment has been sustained in Budget 2010 and that the Government will continue to deliver on stimulus measures for the cultural sector identified in the Economic Action Plan.”
- Deloitte: “The changes in tax legislation announced in today’s budget are among the most significant changes to capital gains taxation since the introduction of taxation of capital gains in 1972.”
- Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada: “It shows that the government recognizes the vital role universities play in creating opportunities for Canadians in the new economy.”
- MITACS: “The R&D funding in this budget demonstrates the government’s commitment to ensuring Canada is a leader in innovation.”
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities: “FCM applauds the federal government for protecting core investments in cities and communities as it reduces the federal budget deficit.”
- Association of Canadian Community Colleges: “The budget demonstrates an understanding that colleges, institutes and polytechnics are integrated with the industrial and technological drivers of the economy”
- Canadian Council of Chief Executives: “We support the government’s intent to implement the fiscal stimulus measures contained in the second half of its two-year Economic Action Plan.”
Not bad, but could use improvement:
- Canadian Healthcare Association: “Canadians ‘get it’ that there is no longer a surplus. They also understand that now is the time to deliver health differently.
- Mowat Centre for Policy and Innovation: “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.”
- Canadian Bankers Association: “On the one hand, we’re pleased to see measures that will help all businesses and contribute to Canada’s long-term economic growth. Unfortunately, there are some proposed new measures that were introduced today that lead us to question whether they will have the intended benefits for consumers and bank customers.”
- Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami: “In many areas, this budget leaves much room for interpretation and implementation.”
- Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters: ““This budget helps manufacturers, but more targeted measures are still needed to sustain innovation, investment and growth.”
- The Canadian Artists’ Representation: “Visual artists are encouraged to see that the 2010 federal budget will maintain support for the Canada Council for the Arts but are concerned about cuts to the Department of Canadian Heritage.”
- Canadian Urban Transit Association: “If transit is to perform at its optimal level, we are going to need long-term, dedicated funding for public transit.”
- The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada: “While there are some positive steps for families in this budget, we reiterate the need for continued broad based income tax relief for families, which could be achieved through family income splitting.”
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Don't like it:
- Heritage Canada Foundation
- Sierra Club: “The federal government continued its attack on environmental protection using the 2010 budget to begin dismantling the Environmental Assessment Agency.”
- Canadian Association of Social Workers: “The federal budget simply ignores key poverty issues facing our country and totally disregards whole segments of our population that are excluded from any of the major government stimulus initiatives.”
- Canadian Labour Congress: “…no plan to create jobs for 1.5 million unemployed Canadians and provides no road map to a prosperous economy.”
- National Aboriginal Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students: “Today's federal budget fails to address the significant gap in post-secondary participation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples.”
- Clean Air Renewable Energy Coalition: “The Harper government missed the mark entirely when it came to clean, green, renewable power.”
- Greenpeace Canada: “The budget failed to make any meaningful investment in renewable energy..”
- Canadian Council for International Cooperation: “Canada is turning its back on the world’s poor.”
- Fraser Institute: “The 2010 federal budget does little to strengthen the Canadian economy. By putting off balancing the books for at least five years, the federal government is sacrificing Canadian competitiveness.”
- National Graduate Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students: The budget continues to follow the misguided science and technology policy that has left Canada ranked near the bottom of industrialised countries in innovation.”
- Green Party of Canada: “The only new thing in this budget is an accelerated attack on Canada’s environment and commitment to development assistance.”
- Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: “The Harper government’s budget fails to measure up to its own job creation promises.”
- Make Poverty History: “Now is not the time to cap aid when the economic crisis and climate change are reversing global progress on poverty reduction.”
- Pembina Institute: “Federal budget hits rock bottom for investments in environment “
- Canadian Federation of Students: “…no measures to address record high tuition fees and the student debt crisis.”
- Canadian Taxpayers Federation: “… expressing with great dismay that the Harper government continues to delay efforts to balance the federal budget.”