The Globe and Mail reports this morning that, “It may be the worst-kept secret in political Ottawa – and the country. But Jim Flaherty will deliver his budget on March 22. The Finance Minister hasn’t confirmed this. But others are talking. Over breakfast Tuesday at the Fairmont Château Laurier, David Alward, the new Progressive Conservative Premier of New Brunswick, said he will be delivering his budget on the same day as the feds. And what’s the date? He and his aides confirmed it was March 22.”
As most know, March 22 is also World Water Day.
The Harper government has an atrocious record on water – opposing the recognition of the human right to water and sanitation, promoting the privatization of municipal water utilities, permitting the destruction of freshwater lakes through Schedule 2, and more.
The Council of Canadians will have a chapter on water policy in the 2011 Alternative Federal Budget, which will be released prior to Flaherty’s budget. To read our chapter from the 2010 Alternative Federal Budget, please go to http://canadians.org/water/documents/AFB-2010-water.pdf.
The Globe and Mail article adds that, “The other budget date being mentioned – but not as firmly as the March 22nd date – is March 29.”
If the Harper government were to fall in a confidence vote in the days following the budget, we could expect a federal election voting day on May 2. The Council of Canadians is preparing its plans to intervene in the federal election, more on that soon.
The Globe and Mail article is at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/nb-premier-lets-flahertys-budget-secret-out-of-the-bag/article1908320/.
