New Fed Budget Slashes Spending, Cuts Services

Stephen Harper federal budget | BCBusiness
Stephen Harper’s 2012 federal budget calls for a $5.2-billion-per-year slash in program spending and cutting some 19,000 public service jobs.

The federal government’s new ‘restraint’ budget chops 19,200 public-service jobs, slashes $5.2 billion in program spending and pushes the OAS age to 67.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper really took an axe to his first majority federal budget.
 
On Thursday, Ottawa laid out its 2012 budget, which offers up a heck of a lot smaller government and more reliance on the private sector to continue Canada’s moderate growth. The budget includes a plan to excise $5.2 billion in program spending a year and to cut some 19,200 jobs in the public service sector.
 
One of the long-term cost-saving measures included in the budget raises the Old Age Security pension age raised from 65 to 67 beginning in 2023. While many Canadians saw it coming, it won’t help ease any generational tensions between unaffected Baby Boomers and Gen. Xers.
 
Of the departments deepest hit in the slashing, the most surprising was in National Defence. Harper proposed a cut of 5.51 per cent ($1.1 billion) in military spending – unusual considering the bungled F-35 fighter jet deal.
 
Digging through the data, there is a mild silver lining for businesses. The budget includes a $1.1-billion fund to aid businesses engaging in research and development, and another $500 million for a venture capital fund.
 
As the dust settles in the coming weeks, we’ll see just how much in “savings” these deep cuts will create.