Feds push back date for balanced budget, plan test for auto sector
Faced with unending turmoil in Europe and a sluggish U.S. economy, Ottawa is starting to plan for a possible double-dip in Canada, two reports from the Globe and Mail suggest. On Tuesday, the Finance Department hinted at the fact that declining revenues for the federal government and most provinces could affect increases in federal health-care transfers after 2013-14, when the current accord expires. In another sign of the times, the Department of Industry said on Tuesday it is planning to rely on U.S. auto industry experts to evaluate how a double-dip recession would affect auto assembly plants in Canada, a move, writes the Globe, that could “pave the way for more government assistance.”