Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has offered few clues as to what today’s budget will contain, but major spending isn’t expected.
The budget will contain some new spending for families and to help create jobs, he said, but the focus remains on eliminating the deficit by the appointed fiscal year 2015-16.
Help for seniors that don’t have a pension—likely through a boost to the guaranteed income supplement and modest measures on pension reform and on financial literacy are two items that we may—and hope—are included in the budget we’ll see later today.
But with the opposition parties pounding on election drums, none of the measures may see the light of day or even get to a vote in the House.
Flaherty has passed an extraordinary five budgets in a row as a minority finance minister. He’s counting on a sixth.
“I hope we vote on it. I hope it’s passed. There are some very good measures in the budget,” Flaherty said.