Freudian Joe?
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2015 (3893 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Finance Minister Joe Oliver has been clear for several weeks the federal budget will be delayed until at least April hoping oil prices might stabilize so the government has a bit more certainty about its revenue estimates.
The federal budget is normally in February or March.
Some political tongue waggers however believe the government isn’t really delaying the budget because it needs a more certain price of oil. It’s because it is giving itself the opportunity to use the budget as a precursor to an early election call.
The federal election is supposed to be on Oct. 19, but nothing prevents Prime Minister Stephen Harper from going to the Governor General earlier than that.
Introducing a budget in late April or early May, could give Harper the chance to say he needs to go to the people for a mandate to address some of the issues contained in it, such as a Canadian economy with a $40 a barrell price of oil, more investments in fighting ISIS in Iraq, or more investments in fighting terror at home.
Did Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s slip of the tongue during a scrum today show this really is part of the consideration of budget timing? Here’s the transcript. You decide.
Reporter: When can we expect the budget sir?
Oliver: Not before April.
Reporter: Not before April because we’ve been getting some mixed signals.
Another reporter: Early April? Mid-April?
Oliver: There’s been no mixed signals.
Reporter: Ok.
Oliver: I’ve always said not, you know since I made my statement I’ve said not before April.
Reporter: What’s the hold up? Like what are we February 18th or something?
Oliver: There isn’t, there isn’t, yeah there isn’t a hold-up. It’s, you know, as I said before, we wanted to, we want to get as much information as we can. We want to see the commodity markets stabilize.
Reporter: Do you believe oil prices have stabilized? have oil prices stabilized?
Oliver: Well they’re somewhat less volatile than they were before, but the timing of the election hasn’t changed. Sorry. Of the budget, as well as the election.