XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, mtl.general   
   From: puela@nyet.ca   
      
   Something has gone very, very wrong with their promised "surplus budget".   
   Remember that advice they were giving all Canadians to not overspend their   
   incomes?   
   Seems that's exactly what the Harper gang was doing with our tax dollars even   
   as they were giving us advice . . . . income splitting and tax reductions for   
   families with fat or inert kids.   
      
   What's that old addage? . . . .    'Take my advice . . .  I don't use it   
   anyway.'   
   ____________________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Jan 15, 2015   
      
      
   Joe Oliver delays federal budget amid market volatility   
   Many questions about declining oil prices and the impact on government finances   
      
      
   Finance Minister Joe Oliver says he will delay the federal budget until at   
   least April due to the volatility of the economy.   
      
   Oliver said the sharp drop in oil prices is having a complex impact on the   
   country's economy.   
      
   He made the comments in a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce Thursday.   
      
   Oliver said he still does not know when the budget will be delivered.   
      
   "As the great Yogi Berra once said, 'I wish I had an answer, because I’m   
   tired   
   of answering the question.'  That said, given the current market instability, I   
   will not bring forward our budget earlier than April.   We need all the   
   information we can obtain before finalizing our decisions."   
      
      
   Joe Oliver in Calgary   
      
   Joe Oliver tells a Calgary business crowd that he is delaying the federal   
   budget. (CBC)   
      
   Federal budgets are usually delivered in February or March, before the new   
   fiscal year begins April 1.   
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   "It's not unprecedented, but it is very unusual to have a budget after the end   
   of the fiscal year," said Duane Bratt, political science professor at Mount   
   Royal University in Calgary. "It shows they need to come up with a new way of   
   figuring out how to deliver a balanced budget, with this economic hole."   
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   All week in Calgary there have been projections about how tough the next 12   
   months will be in the Alberta city because of low oil prices.   
      
   "I appreciate how hard Calgary has been hit by this reality," Oliver told   
   reporters.  "These are tough times for the energy sector but we don't need to   
   be pessimistic."   
      
   Oliver is travelling the country discussing the upcoming federal budget.   
      
   The finance minister is pledging the federal government will be able to balance   
   the budget in 2015 and even post a surplus of about $1.6 billion.   
      
   The decline of crude prices has already resulted in layoffs in Alberta's energy   
   sector, and prompted some economists to predict the province's economy could   
   contract in 2015 and enter a recession.   
      
   "This great province is being sorely tested by an unexpected and dramatic fall   
   in crude oil prices since last June," Oliver told reporters.   "This new   
   reality poses a great, though not entirely an unprecedented, challenge."   
      
   Oliver described low oil prices as a complex problem because of the advantages   
   and disadvantages to the country.   The drop in gas prices acts like a tax cut   
   for drivers and energy costs are dropping especially for manufacturing and   
   transportation companies.   
      
   "On the other hand, the profits of oil companies will suffer, their capital   
   investment will slow and royalty payments will fall along with our government's   
   tax revenues," he told reporters.   
      
      
   Alberta budget   
      
   The plunge in oil prices is having a significant effect on the Alberta   
   government, which may also delay its budget until after April 1.   
      
   "We haven't set a date yet," said provincial Finance Minister Robin Campbell.   
   "Anything is possible."   
      
   The Alberta government is currently projecting a $6.7-billion drop in resource   
   revenue based on forecasting oil at $65 US a barrel in the upcoming year.   
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   "We'll make sure our department are comfortable where they are headed and then   
   the premier will make the decision when the budget will come down," Campbell   
   said.   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   ==================================================================   
     It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the   
   environment   
      
                                ~  Ansel Adams   
   ==================================================================   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)