December 21st, 2010 
davidguide 
Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada (AHN) – Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Monday gave Canadian provinces until 2015 to wipe out their budget deficits. He encouraged the provinces to address their financial problems to avoid facing a debt crisis similar to what some European Union nations are grappling with.
Most Canadian provinces have already made plans to achieve balanced books within the next five years. Ottawa, however, has an eight-year timetable to remove its projected $18.7 billion deficit. Although Ontario accounts for 40 percent of Canada’s economy, Flaherty said the largest province’s fiscal situation does not place Canada’s economy at risk.
To help provinces cope with decreasing revenues and increasing expenses, Ottawa hiked transfers for 2011-12 to $56 billion, which is $2.2 billion higher than the current year’s transfers. The federal transfers are allocated for delivery of front-line services such as health care and social programs.
Flaherty added that he ordered a one-year protection of federal transfers to provinces in which there would be no reductions in major transfers for next year. The move costs Ottawa $1.1 billion.
In the same meeting of finance ministers, the group agreed to Flaherty’s proposal to establish a new private-sector retirement savings fund that will provide Canadians more retirement savings options. The fund will be open to small Canadian firms, employees whose companies do not want to participate and self-employed workers.
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