The Harper government nips, tucks its way to a narrow budget surplus
Posted Apr 21, 2015 04:25:35 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The Harper government is making good on its promise to eliminate the deficit thanks to billions of dollars in balance-sheet tweaks designed to blunt the blow of the oil-price shock.
Finance Minister Joe Oliver is producing a narrow $1.4-billion surplus, scoring a politically critical goal just six months before a scheduled election in October.
To get there, Oliver took the unusual step of draining $2 billion out of the budget’s rainy-day reserve, which is supposed to be set aside for unforeseeable events like natural disasters.
An additional $1 billion was applied to the bottom line from the sale of the government’s remaining stake in General Motors, which generated a total net gain of $2.1 billion.
The books project an additional $900-million net increase based on changes the government hopes to make to public-sector plans for disability and sick leave _ even though negotiations are still ongoing.
The blueprint also predicts the government’s bottom line will receive an extra $3 billion, thanks to the lower interest rates it’s expecting to pay on its debt.
