Flaherty

Parliamentarians rise to honour the former finance minister

A CBSA lawyer warned the government was ‘perpetuating a fraud’ with its denial

Our view from the Hill

Federal budget analysis from inside the press lock-up in Ottawa

…the deficit-fighting measures in this budget are not aimed at fiscal prudence, but at preparing the political landscape. After all, a “structural deficit” is not a genuine economic animal. Instead, it’s a creature of politics, brought to life by our lack of political courage when it comes to tough decisions about what taxes to raise or what spending to cut, and by how much.

Does anyone else find the following argument scary?

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will talk to the media tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. on Parliament Hill about process surrounding meetings with the International Monetary Fund and G7 countries. Something to do with the spot of bother on the stock exchanges. And the banks. And the jobs outlook.

In the Globe and Mail today, Bill Downe, CEO of the Bank of Montreal, throws his support behind Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s push for a national securities regulator. Most people support the idea—getting rid of 13 regulators in favour of just one makes too much sense to ignore. But Flaherty has been largely out on his own arguing the case.  He hasn’t had a chorus of big name business leaders backing him up against the increasingly defensive provinces. His movement has had very little momentum. But this is a big name for Flaherty to have on his side.

Say what you want about finance minister Jim Flaherty, but the guy has done more to protect individual investors than any politician in recent memory. His latest move was to force the issuers of Principal Protected Notes to reveal critical information, such as fees, “in clear and simple language and in a manner that’s not misleading.”