The Budget presents an updated assessment of the economy and public finances and reports on Government policies. It: shows that the economy is growing strongly and the Government is meeting its fiscal rules; announces a long-term investment programme for schools and sets out further measures to help young people develop skills; sets out reform to reduce the regulatory burden on business; announces free local travel for people over 60 and provide £200 towards the council tax bill for those over 65; makes a commitment to increase Child Tax Credit in line with earnings; doubles the threshold for stamp duty; increases the special reserve for military operations; announces a better targeted Local Enterprise Growth Initiative; introduces measures to modernise the tax system; defers any increase in fuel duty until September 2005.

The Committee reports on the progress made by the Treasury in placing environmental objectives at the heart of its fiscal policies. This year's pre-Budget report (Cm. 6701, December 2005, ISBN 0101670125) is found to be inadequate, especially in the context of UK CO2 emissions actually increasing once more. No significant new measures were announced, and the Committee sees a continued slowing down of the Treasury's momentum in turning rhetoric into action. It believes the Treasury should redefine Air Passenger Duty (APD) as an environmental tax and that APD rates should more accurately reflect the carbon emissions of the flights to which they apply. Charging APD on flights rather than passengers could also act as an incentive to more efficient use of aviation fuel. The Committee also recommends action on aviation fuel duty, biofuels, car energy efficiency, steps to wean the economy off over-reliance on oil, stamp duty and council tax reductions for homes built or refurbished to high environmental standards. Each pre-Budget report should include figures on total revenue from the climate change levy, aggregates levy, and landfill tax. Although the Treasury accepts the principle of increasing taxes on "bads" rather than "goods" its reluctance for bold reform of the tax system mystifies the Committee. A Green tax Commission should be reconsidered, to develop a proper communications strategy to sell the environmental programme to the public. The Committee exhorts the Government to make moves on the climate change problem, as waiting for universal agreement is a recipe for stasis. Finally, the Committee regrets the Treasury's decision to abolish the Operating and Financial Review required from large companies, in that it appears to view sustainable reporting as an optional extra. It hopes that the proposed new business reviews will continue to require some form of social and environmental disclosure from companies.

The real brunt of the cuts has been borne by the most economically and socially vulnerable people in the province. [...] The real brunt of the cuts has Second, we need to invest in the people and infrastructure of the been borne by the most province to address unmet needs and a growing social deficit. [...] And we fear that the NDP (like the Liberals) are refusing to entertain a reversal of upper-income tax cuts and the need to reinvest in public services. [...] In addition to this, we have made the following updates not included in the recent quarterly reports: • New funding out of the September federal-provincial health accord does not appear in the most recent quarterly update, and has been added to federal transfers on the revenue side and to the health care budget on the expenditure side (i.e. [...] The 2002/03 deficit of $2.7 billion (prior to a major This finding underpins the need accounting adjustment) topped the previous record by the Socred government in 1991/92 of a $2.3 billion deficit (although as a to re-invest in the public sector.

As different sides High-income Canadians and businesses have of the political spectrum present their cases, the been richly rewarded for their sacrifices in the government appears content, in the words of fight against the deficit with the program of the C. D. Howe Institute, to "let the debate be- $100 billion in tax cuts that was introduced in gin." 2000. [...] The chapters of the ing for health care to the provinces with an in- 2005 AFB are dedicated to outlining priorities crease of almost $10 billion over the next three in a range of social programs and infrastruc- years, the Canada Social Transfer remains the 6. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Alternative Federal Budget 2005: It's Time poor cousin of the Canada Health Transfer. [...] The following provides a summary Canada's local governments that ultimately suf- of the key measures needed to eliminate pov- fered the major brunt of federal and provincial erty in Canada and a summary of the main downloading, as is shown in the chapter on Fed- measures in the different chapters of the AFB. [...] The sponsibilities from the federal to the provincial AFB will build on the great generosity shown to the municipal level without the accompany- by Canadians in responding to the tsunami dis- ing funds, crumbling infrastructure, and accel- aster by increasing development assistance by erating inequality between individuals, commu- 12%-15% per year in order to reach the goal of nities and provinces [...] Reductions in federal government departed from the pledge employment insurance benefits and the elimi- of 50/50 cost-sharing in the late 1970s and early nation of the Canada Assistance Plan have 1980s, but it was forced into sharp relief by the shifted the burden of dealing with unemploy- substantial cuts in Ottawa's share of funding ment and poverty away from the federal gov- imposed in the 1995.

Modest in- We know that child care is vital to parents' creases in taxes on the 10% of individuals with success in breaking into the workforce, yet for the highest incomes - those with incomes over all of the government's good intentions, the sys- $100,000 - and a partial roll-back of the cor- tem remains fragmented and ineffective. [...] The structure of the funding The record in health care and elsewhere shows formula reflects the education ideology of the that successful attempts at reform cost more in Harris era. [...] As we have al- The McGuinty Liberals made a commitment ready noted, Matthews links the need for so- in the 2004 provincial budget to build a strong cial assistance to "failures in other sectors of economy and to ensure that people in Ontario government and society, and conversely, the enjoy a high standard of living. [...] Restoring the integrity of the abilities; workers' compensation system and ensuring • establishing a minimum wage loss benefit; that employers assume the responsibility for • eliminating the deeming of wages as the and costs of the program will provide the gov- basis for the calculation of benefits; ernment with more fiscal freedom in redesign- • indexing benefits to the cost of living; ing the so [...] The jurisdiction and the authority respon- expanded service target is half of the child sible for delivery of services, and the population 0-12 by the end of year 10.