[mr.x]

$7-billion only over the next 2 years? That's more like just a re-announcement of infrastructure money promised in 2007 and 2008!

The Conservatives obviously do not understand Canada's dire need for infrastructure; $123-billion is needed to fix this nation's infrastructure. This won't even make a dent at fixing the infrastructure problem nor soften the impact of the economic crisis.

It also appears that the Conservatives are stuck to their ideology once again - they can't imagine helping the little guy without giving their pals a break, too.

True stimulus is about building infrastructure for our communities to get back in the game. It is not about supporting dinosaurs, such as the current large auto players, but helping look at ways to research and develop new technologies which will allow Canada to be a world leader.

Canada needs to help the crumbling infrastructures with an eye to the future, not just the past.

The Conservatives are not offering something they believe in, or they would have approached the exercise differently. Mr. Ignatief has the opportunity to show what he can do - and not to take on the challenge will show more what stuff the Liberals are made of than how good the budget is or should be!

We don't want, or need another election - we need effective leadership - and the desire to seriously deal with an economy in crisis. Harper got one reprieve. He does not deserve a second.

Something like $14-billion over the next two years is much more ideal.





Budget has at least $7B for new infrastructure: Baird
Last Updated: Monday, January 26, 2009 | 11:26 AM ET
CBCNews

The federal government plans to spend at least $7 billion on new infrastructure projects in an effort to boost the sagging economy, Transport Minister John Baird said Monday.

The measures will be included in Tuesday's federal budget, Baird told a news conference in Ottawa.

"We will be making investments in roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, as well as transit," he said.

While he didn't provide any further details, Baird did offer the following breakdown of how the money will be spent over the next two years:

-$4 billion for an infrastructure stimulus fund to help provinces, territories and municipalities.
-$2 billion for repairs and construction of colleges and universities.
-$1 billion for sustainable green infrastructure projects.

Opposition leaders, provincial premiers and mayors have called for billions to be spent on infrastructure projects to boost the economy and have urged the federal government to streamline the approval process.

Baird said the government is determined to speed up the process.

"We are ready to cut red tape and duplication and get these projects moving quickly," Baird said, adding the new projects will provide "hope and opportunity" for Canadians worried about their futures.

"It is important we make sound investments. We'll be quite vigilant in this regard. We do believe we can make some changes administratively to speed up the green-lighting of projects," he said.

Liberal infrastructure critic Gerard Kennedy said the Harper government has a low credibility rate when it comes to moving ahead with such projects.

Of the $1.5 billion pledged for infrastructure projects under the 2007 Building Canada Fund, only $300 million has been spent because of red tape, said Kennedy.

"This is an area of high skepticism," he said.

He also said it's not clear that Baird is talking about new money, noting the government has recycled spending announcements in the past.

Many elements of Tuesday's budget have already been leaked, including billions of dollars for social housing, job retraining, agriculture and tax cuts.

The government expects to have a $64-billion deficit over the next two years.

[DKaz]

$7 billion will keep around 30,000+ construction workers employed over the next two years, they seem to be keeping things at a bare minimum...

I'd rather have more infrastructure spending than tax cuts. Having more money in my pocket means nothing if I lose my job.

[Spork]

I'm assuming that this is our 2009/2010 budget thread.

Looks like Ignatieff wants some changes:
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/578637

Will Flaherty give in and commit political suicide or will he work with the Liberals? Time will tell. Great political move and policy move by the Liberals.

[usog]

I honestly don't get all the whiners. It seems that any government is damned if they do, damned if they don't. First a complaint of a stimulus that's too small even though it was probably the biggest without a deficit, and when they do upsize it, they hammer him for making a deficit even though they also complained about his unwillingness to run deficits beforehand. Honestly I say just give them some space and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, kick them out the next election. This kind of whining won't make it any better since the loudest voices are usually the ones sidelined as extremists *cough*

[Spork]

While I partially agree with you, I think that the issue with the deficit is that it should not have come to that. The Conservatives have supposedly spent us down (spending = lower taxes & greater outflow) so that we do not have a surplus - if they had not done this our deficit wouldn't be so great. I personally don't have a problem with a temporary deficit, and of course, the smaller the better, but the fact remains is that we have one of the lowest debt:gdp ratios in the G8 nations.

[usog]

Dunno, I really don't get the demands for a greater stimulus. I read an article citing figures as the US getting a stimulus double in size per capita compared to us. However, they are four times as deep in the hole as we are, since Canada seems to be one of the best-off in reacting to the "recession" out of the industrialized nations. Lots of uninformed hot air about nothing eh?

[mr.x]

The Ministry of Transportation and Highways says all materials have been purchased, and we'll see pillars rising from the Fraser River within the next few weeks. The project will employ roughly 8,000 workers and will be completed in 2013.

[flight_from_kamakura]

my thought is that if this joker is going to load canada up with the biggest deficit spending splurge in the history of the country, it stands to reason that we should at least get some good infrastructure out of it, like we did under trudeau. think about this - we're going to increase the debt by at least 70-80 billion over the next 4 years. that's nuts.

there's lots of economics shit i could toss out, but i don't feel like it. basically, the point is that by my reading, this budget isn't a finely crafted stimulus package, it's a few good measures, a few bad ones, and a lot of spending on things the provinces want. it's politics.

a funny aside: it steve hadn't insisted on cutting the gst, the marge de maneuvre would be that much greater. dude, get a new job and let the grownups try to fix things before you mess them up even more. really, it sounds idiotic to say, but these guys really are the like the george bush republicans in one really important way: they absolutely subsume all good governance to politics.