Harper’s recent cabinet shuffle makes Stockwell Day Canada’s new president of the Treasury Board, which means the stimulus spending spree is winding down (though some argue almost no money has flowed, the most recent report on the Action Plan shows that 97 per cent of stimulus funding has been spent).
As Steven Chase and Bill Curry point out in today’s Globe, governments are now struggling with the decision to either keep stimulus flowing or turn off the taps.
Canada is already facing a $56 billion deficit—but tightening the purse strings too soon could mean another economic dive. As it stands, Canada’s stimulus spending is scheduled to stop in March 2011.
A new national survey released today by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) shows Canadians want the feds to protect investments in their local infrastructure even as it eliminates the budget deficit. That’s a tall order.
“Canadians have a clear message for the government: do not balance your books by cutting badly-needed investments in our community infrastructure,” says FCM President Basil Stewart.
The report shows that 96 per cent of Canadians want the government to maintain or increase its funding for local infrastructure–and they´re ready to invest more of their tax dollars if that will make it happen.
The survey shows that an overwhelming number of Canadians believe that local infrastructure is among the most important areas to protect from federal spending cuts, second only to health care.
The opinion poll, the first comprehensive survey of Canadians´ views on post-recession spending priorities, was conducted for FCM by the Strategic Counsel, which surveyed more than 2,000 Canadians in early January.
The poll shows that 32 per cent of Canadians would support raising the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to pay down the federal deficit, but up to 70 per cent would support an increase dedicated to local infrastructure repairs and upgrades.
“Seventy-one percent of Canadians expect the government to take at least a decade to get out of deficit, and they don´t want it delaying infrastructure repairs to get there,” said Tim Woolstencroft of the Strategic Counsel. “Stimulus spending will come to an end, but Canadians want the federal government to protect its long-term investments in community infrastructure.”
