News
This year's Alternative Federal Budget, released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives yesterday, shows how growth-killing austerity can be replaced by a plan that strengthens the economy, leads to a better quality of life for all Canadians, and eliminates the deficit by 2016.
The Alternative Federal Budget, is a yearly exercise by the economists at the CCPA. It demonstrates in a concrete and compelling way that another world really is possible.
"The Alternative Federal Budget is a 'what if' exercise—what a government could do if it were truly committed to an economic, social, and environmental agenda that reflects the values of the large majority of Canadians—as opposed to the interests of a privileged minority."
– Bruce Campbell, CCPA Executive Director
The full budget document (171pp), Budget in Brief [34pp summary], and infographics are available on the CCPA website in both English and French.
“Canada has a growth problem, not a deficit problem,” says AFB Coordinator David Macdonald. “Federal government cuts are already affecting our economy and are expected to reduce growth by a third next year. More cuts will only lead to less growth and fewer opportunities for Canadians, something we can ill afford at this time. We need to turn off the austerity auto-pilot and get our economy growing again, particularly for young Canadians.”
"The Europeans have shown conclusively that austerity weakens economies, rather than strengthen them," says CCPA Senior Economist Armine Yalnizyan. "Instead of budgeting with eyes wide shut, the AFB responds to the issues that most Canadians struggle with every day. It invests in programs that are good for growth and good for Canadians, while balancing the books. Instead of making things worse and leaving Canadians to fend for themselves, the AFB shows we can do better, together." Listen to Armine Yalnizyan on CBC's Metro Morning [audio 5:20min].
The AFB also argues the Harper government's trade policy is not working for most Canadians. It describes the Canada-EU trade deal [CETA], Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] and Canada-China investment treaty as "fundamentally illegitimate and anti-democratic" in how they "alter key domestic policies through the back door of international trade treaties." And it recommends that Canada "shift its focus from negotiating new bilateral and regional free trade agreements to the promotion of Canadian trade, especially high value-added exports of goods and services, including cultural services." [Alternative Federal Budget would take investor rights, patent protection out of CETA and TPP, by Stuart Trew, Rabble]
The AFB plan:
- reduces poverty and inequality by investing in child care, pharmacare, affordable housing, income supports, and post-secondary education,
- tackles the ongoing crisis for First Nations housing, drinking water, education,
- implements a long term, transparent and public plan for investments in infrastructure,
- creates 300,000 jobs, lowering the unemployment rate to 6% by 2014, and
- introduces a new top personal income tax bracket, closes the biggest tax loopholes, and introduces a withholding tax on tax havens.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is expected to deliver his 2013 economic blueprint in the last week of March. He has said the government needs to stick with its belt-tightening austerity plan, which is designed to reduce Ottawa’s spending by $5 billion a year, to gradually wipe out the $26-billion federal budget deficit. It is unlikely that Minister Flaherty will heed the call by the CCPA and change the the Conservative's austerity-focussed direction.