XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics   
   From: doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca   
      
   In article ,   
   =?UTF-8?B?Q29uyYBSQ29uyYA=?=   wrote:   
   >He 'off loads' responsibility that our tax dollars go towards federally   
   >- onto the provinces.   
   >And what do they do to make up the loss of funding from Harper?  Well,   
   >the usual . . .   
   >______________________________________   
   >   
   >Fri Sep 27, 2013   
   >   
   >Canada shifts debt-reduction burden to provinces: budget officer   
   >   
   >   
   >OTTAWA (Reuters) - A move by Canada's federal government to offload some   
   >healthcare costs onto the country's provinces will leave provincial   
   >governments facing ballooning debt unless they raise taxes or cut   
   >spending, the parliamentary budget office (PBO) says.   
   >   
   >The federal government is in good fiscal health after it introduced   
   >broad spending cuts with the goal of eliminating its budget deficit by   
   >2015, the PBO said in a report on Thursday on the long-term fiscal   
   >sustainability of Canada's various levels of government.   
   >   
   >The PBO, which was set up by the Conservative government in 2006, has a   
   >mandate to provide independent analysis of Canada's finances to legislators.   
   >   
   >"PBO's projection of net debt suggests federal debt is on track to   
   >achieve the government's G20 (Group of 20) commitment to a debt-to-gross   
   >domestic product ratio of 25 percent by 2021," the report said.   
   >   
   >Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the target at the Group of 20   
   >summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, earlier this month. Canada ran 11   
   >straight years of budget surpluses before the 2008-09 financial crisis,   
   >and Harper is eager to balance the books again before the next election,   
   >scheduled for October 2015.   
   >   
   >   
   >CHANGE IN TRANSFERS   
   >   
   >Ottawa expects a deficit in the 2013-14 fiscal year of C$18.7 billion   
   >($18.2 billion), or 1 percent of GDP.   
   >   
   >But in a controversial move in 2011, the Conservatives announced a   
   >change to the way the federal government transfers funds to the   
   >provinces to cover the country's universal, publicly funded healthcare   
   >system.   
   >   
   >Transfers have been growing by 6 percent a year and will continue to do   
   >so until 2016-17, but after that they will increase in line with average   
   >growth in nominal gross domestic product, which is expected to be lower.   
   >   
   >The budget office said the change to the so-called Canada Health   
   >Transfer "has transferred the fiscal burden to provinces and territories".   
   >   
   >"PBO estimates that the debt path of other levels of government is not   
   >sustainable and will continue to rise, reaching 359.9 percent of GDP by   
   >2087," it said.   
   >   
   >The PBO defines a government's debt as sustainable if the debt-to-GDP   
   >ratio is projected to return to its current level over a 75-year   
   >horizon, taking into account pressures from an aging population and   
   >other considerations.   
   >   
   >The fiscal gap of other levels of government - lumping together   
   >provinces, territories, municipalities and aboriginal governments - is   
   >1.9 percent of GDP, it estimated. That means these governments combined   
   >would have to increase revenues, reduce spending or a combination of   
   >both by C$36.2 billion this year to set their finances on the right   
   >track, the report said.   
   >   
   >A spokeswoman for federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty defended the   
   >transfer policy, saying Ottawa's payments would continue to increase   
   >every year to record levels.   
   >   
   >"Our government has announced long-term, stable funding arrangements   
   >with the provinces that will see health transfers reach historic levels   
   >of C$40 billion by the end of the decade," spokeswoman Kathleen   
   >Perchaluk said.   
   >   
   >The PBO report did not single out individual provinces. Ontario, the   
   >most populous provinces, is one of the most indebted. Other major   
   >economic players Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia have also been   
   >tackling deficits in recent years.   
   >   
   >Ontario ran a deficit in the 2012-13 fiscal year of C$9.2 billion,   
   >according to the latest official figures. That is expected to widen to   
   >C$11.7 billion in 2013-14. Ontario's Liberal government has pledged to   
   >balance the budget by 2017-18.   
   >   
   >Susie Heath, press secretary for Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa,   
   >said provincial finances are moving in the right direction and that   
   >total government spending decreased last year for the first time since 1996.   
   >   
   >"And we have exceeded all deficit reduction targets for the last four   
   >years, the only jurisdiction in Canada to achieve this level of   
   >success," Heath said.   
      
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