The Federal Budget

Public Policy Wiki Issue #1: The Federal Budget

The Issue

As most people are well aware, Canada does not exist in a bubble. The Canadian economy has been gravely affected by the current global economic crisis. The past few months have witnessed a severe economic slowdown marked by a credit crunch, reduced consumer confidence, increased unemployment, deflationary pressures, falling stock values and once-unthinkable government deficits. That we are now in a recession is generally accepted, some even say that we are at the start of a depression.

Get more information: To find out more about the causes of Canada’s current economic predicament, read Prof. Tony Frost’s background/overview paper, “How the Crisis Developed" (Frost Overview), and also the background material on our resources page (Resources).

The Wiki Challenge: How the Federal Government Should Respond to the Current Economic Crisis

The Federal Government’s economic plan will be outlined in the Speech from the Throne on January 26th and the Budget the following day. Your ideas are needed now. We are developing two briefing notes to be submitted to the Minister of Finance and federal officials — one based on the majority of opinion and a second "minority report" version.

We are asking you to take charge of this process. Identify and outline the public policy that you think will be most effective in dealing with the current economic crisis. You can do so in one of a number of ways:

1) Vote on either one or both of the expert analyses we have provided from Don Drummond, the chief economist at the TD Bank and former Associate Deputy Minister of Finance (Drummond Analysis) and Jim Stanford, an economist with the Canadian Auto Workers (Stanford Analysis)

2) Comment and discuss the various options in the forum associated with the topic or the analysis research paper in question

3) Edit one of the briefing-paper style policy notes we have prepared (List of Positions) using the built-in wiki tools and the policy-note guidelines (Policy Note Guidelines)

4) Create your own policy note according to the guidelines and allow others to edit it.


Several solutions to the current economic crisis have been proposed by a number of parties. Should there be large-scale fiscal stimulus, or should the invisible hand of the market decide? Some suggest a return to Keynesian-inspired economics through large-scale infrastructure spending, while others insist first and foremost on tax cuts to individuals or corporations.

Should the government focus mostly on the manufacturing sector? Is now the time to push through massive environmental and taxation reforms, or is now a time for greater modesty? Is more trade the answer or are we already too trade-dependent? What fiscal and monetary policy tools should Ottawa be using? Which ones should it avoid? Should the federal government run a deficit during this period or are deficits to be avoided at all costs?


Get more information: For more ideas, read the outline of options prepared by Prof. Mark Stabile, “Principles for Action on the Economy” (Stabile Overview) and also the background material on our resources page (Resources).


Also, you can read and consider what two of the experts think:

1) “Recommended Government Response to a Weakening Canadian Economy” by Don Drummond, Chief Economist at TD Bank (Drummond Analysis)

2) “Time to Rethink Our Conventional Wisdom” by Jim Stanford, Economist from the Canadian Auto Workers (Stanford Analysis)


The Energy Challenge