Conservatives Staying the Course: Flaherty

Kate Yule
Friday, November 20, 2009

The Harper government has no new spending initiatives planned for next year’s budget, but it will stick with the $61 billion dollars in stimulus spending announced last January.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says switching gears at this point would be misguided, and he doesn’t want to put the economy at risk.

He says, ‘In preparing next year's budget, I have no doubt our government will hear calls to change course. This short-sightedness completely overlooks everything our sound plan has achieved so far.’

Flaherty told the Empire Club in Toronto that the stimulus measures will continue as planned until the end of the next fiscal year.

He also repeated promises not to raise taxes or cut transfers to provinces in order to pay off Ottawa's deficit.