Another Glance at the Budget

Well, I wasn't able to get to it last night, but I've had another look at Finance Canada's budget page. They've added a multimedia page to the site, which is a pretty good design to navigate through.

One thing that strikes me is that the majority of the spending they're planning is in the future; what they're planning for 2005 is a bit modest compared with 3 or 4 years down the road. (Yes, it's a cheat.) They must really be hopeful that Canada's economy will grow enough to sustain the new spending.

The Conservatives have already said they're not going to bring down the government over this budget, and I'd say it's a good strategy. If Paul Martin has one virtue, it is that he is not Joe Clark (i.e., he won't act like a bull all the time). He is also not facing an opposition chafing at the bit as Clark was, and as much as it pains me to say it, I am not convinced that the Tories are currently organized enough to form a credible government.