The Canadian federal budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year was presented to the Canadian House of Commons by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on March 22, 2011, then again in June following a May 2nd election.

On June 13th, "the budget passed by a vote of 167 to 131, with four Bloc Qu b cois MPs voting in support and the other opposition parties voting against it" ^[1]

Proposals

• Increasing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for seniors who rely Old Age Security and the GIS.
• Tax credits for family caregivers, children's arts and crafts programs and Volunteer fire-fighters.
• Student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who re-locate to remote or rural areas.
• "Strengthening the Charitable Sector" - measures to enhance the ability of Canadians to give with confidence to charities, and to help ensure that more resources are available for legitimate charities.

Opposition

All three opposition parties rejected the budget in statements made after the budget speech:

• The NDP will not be supporting the budget as presented, Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party^[2][3]
• We re forced to reject the budget and we re also forced to reject a government that shows so little respect for parliamentary democracy and our democratic institutions. Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
• ...It s obvious that we cannot support this budget, Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc Qu b cois^[4]

A motion of non-confidence was passed on March 25, 2011. While this motion, which found the government in contempt of Parliament, did not relate specifically to the budget, it had the practical effect of dissolving parliament and killing any legislation under consideration. An election was held May 2, 2011. The Conservatives went from a minority position in the House of Commons to a majority, paving the way for the re-introduction of the measures contained in the budget.

See also

• Canadian federal budget

References

External links