Latest news with #budget
CTV News
43 minutes ago
- Business
- CTV News
PBO Yves Giroux on whether the government is on track to meet its fiscal targets
Politics Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux explains why it is difficult to assess the government's projected operating budget.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TDSB passes budget for 2025-2026 with plan to eliminate $34.4M deficit
Trustees for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) have approved a budget for 2025-2026 that includes a plan to balance the board's books over the next two years. The plan includes a number of cost-saving measures to eliminate a $34.4 million deficit, including a pause on issuing new Chromebooks for students in the coming school year in favour of recirculating devices returned by graduating Grade 12 students, a news release from the board said. It also includes a $9.5 million spending cut in operating expenses for central departments of the board that will have "limited impact" on services. Fees will also rise for some continuing education programming, the TDSB said. At a meeting in April, trustees heard the school board was facing a $58-million deficit for 2025-2026, with staff looking at a variety of options to balance the budget. Since then, trustees have passed more than $20 million in cuts, resulting in a current deficit of $34.4 million, a spokesperson for the school board said. One of the cost-cutting options on the table was closing school pools the board doesn't lease out, which would have saved an estimated $12.8 million. However that's not happening after public outcry. Pools and aquatics instructors will continue to be available to students and community members for another year, the TDSB said in a Thursday news release. Board staff are working on privately leasing more pools while also working with the City of Toronto on the use of TDSB pools, the release says. The budget must now be submitted to the Ministry of Education by June 30 for final approval.
National Post
14 hours ago
- Business
- National Post
Ottawa's fiscal watchdog says it's in the dark on federal government's fiscal targets
The parliamentary budget officer says he can't properly assess whether the federal government is on track to meet its fiscal targets because the Liberals' new budget benchmarks haven't been defined. Article content Without a spring budget, that means Ottawa's budgetary watchdog is in the dark on how recently announced plans to boost Canada's defence spending and cut income taxes will affect the government's fiscal position. Article content Article content Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a plan before the spring election to split Ottawa's budget into operating and capital streams, and to balance the operating side in three years. Article content Article content Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux says in a new analysis that the Liberals haven't yet defined what will be included in this operating budget, so there's no way to say if the federal government is on track to meet its new fiscal targets. Article content The government's old fiscal anchors were based on keeping annual budget deficits below one per cent of GDP and keeping debt-to-GDP on a declining path over the medium term. Article content Giroux does say the federal government's deficit for the last fiscal year likely came in at $46 billion, roughly $4.3 billion lower than estimates in March, thanks in part to higher corporate tax revenues and the imposition of counter-tariffs against the United States. Article content
CTV News
15 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Budget watchdog says he's in the dark on Ottawa's fiscal targets
Prime Minister Mark Carney responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons to Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer said Thursday he can't properly assess whether the federal government is on track to meet its fiscal targets because the Liberals' new budget benchmarks haven't been defined. Without a spring budget, that means Ottawa's budgetary watchdog is in the dark on how recently announced plans to boost Canada's defence spending and cut income taxes will affect the government's fiscal position. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a plan before the spring election to split Ottawa's budget into operating and capital streams, and to balance the operating side in three years. Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux said in an updated economic and fiscal monitor report that the Liberals haven't yet defined what will be included in this operating budget. 'Without a clear definition of what counts as operating spending, it's impossible to evaluate whether the government is on track to meet its new fiscal anchor,' Giroux said in a media statement. Carney announced plans earlier this month to reach the NATO defence spending target of two per cent of GDP this fiscal year with $9.3 billion in new funding — a rapid expansion of his own previous promise to hit those levels by the end of the decade. The prime minister promised $4.3 billion in aid for Ukraine at the G7 summit earlier this week. The federal government also has introduced plans for a one-percentage-point cut to the bottom income tax bracket, which the PBO pegged at a net cost of $28 billion over five years in a separate report released Wednesday. The government's old fiscal anchors were based on keeping annual budget deficits below one per cent of GDP and keeping debt-to-GDP on a declining path over the medium term. The PBO's latest report notes that the federal government could hit its operating budget targets but still see the debt-to-GDP ratio rise due to additional borrowing to fund, for example, accelerated military spending. 'This means that the government could achieve its fiscal objective and yet be fiscally unsustainable,' the report says. Parliamentarians 'may wish to seek additional clarity' on how the government intends to define these measures and keep federal finances stable, the report concludes. The PBO does say the federal government's deficit for the last fiscal year likely came in at $46 billion, roughly $4.3 billion lower than estimates in March, thanks in part to higher corporate tax revenues and the imposition of counter-tariffs on the United States. The office's updated economic and fiscal projections predict economic growth will stall in the second quarter as Canada's trade war with the United States sinks exports. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ottawa's fiscal watchdog says it's in the dark on Ottawa's fiscal targets
OTTAWA — The parliamentary budget officer says he can't properly assess whether the federal government is on track to meet its fiscal targets because the Liberals' new budget benchmarks haven't been defined. Without a spring budget, that means Ottawa's budgetary watchdog is in the dark on how recently announced plans to boost Canada's defence spending and cut income taxes will affect the government's fiscal position. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a plan before the spring election to split Ottawa's budget into operating and capital streams, and to balance the operating side in three years. Parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux says in a new analysis that the Liberals haven't yet defined what will be included in this operating budget, so there's no way to say if the federal government is on track to meet its new fiscal targets. The government's old fiscal anchors were based on keeping annual budget deficits below one per cent of GDP and keeping debt-to-GDP on a declining path over the medium term. Giroux does say the federal government's deficit for the last fiscal year likely came in at $46 billion, roughly $4.3 billion lower than estimates in March, thanks in part to higher corporate tax revenues and the imposition of counter-tariffs against the United States. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025. Craig Lord, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
