Four o’clock today will indeed be the witching hour, when reporters, senior government officials, interest groups and associations, and the odd communications adviser or two, will emerge from a day-long “lock up” in Ottawa to release to Canadians details of the federal budget.
I really liked the way my old Washington colleague John Ibbitson summed up the situation in the Globe and Mail when he wrote “we are entering a dark decade that will test the will and ability of governments across Canada.” As we noted in a previous post the Parliamentary Budget Officer has warned that Canada’s fiscal situation is unsustainable without tax increases or massive spending cuts, or both. Given an aging baby boomer demographic moving out of the workforce and into retirement, program spending demands in health, social security and social services will hit record highs while our economy grows more slowly, or so the theory goes. Ibbitson’s argument is that if we start to take some painful steps now, it will limit the damage to Canada’s fiscal situation down the road.
The issues have never been more serious. But for some Canadians, this government-prompted debate over whether the words of our national anthem need to be changed will be more compelling water cooler talk. It shouldn’t be. The fiscal reality facing Ottawa and all Canadian provincial governments is overwhelmingly the most important public affairs environmental factor for anyone who engages with our elected officials – today or in the years to come. Help government with this issue and you will help yourself. Most ‘cap-in-hand’ requests will result in an empty cap. Instead, we are looking at a freeze in government spending, deregulated industries and more openness in terms of foreign investment. It not just spring training in Florida, it’s a whole new ball game.
