Government Plans Balanced Budget Despite Cheap Oil

The Canadian Press
Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver says the government still plans to balance the budget and keep its commitments despite the collapse of oil prices.

Oliver’s remarks follow recent expert warnings that the steep slide in crude prices could erase the government’s projected $1.6 billion surplus for the 2015-16 fiscal year.

Since the government’s surplus prediction last fall, oil prices have fallen from US$80 per barrel to below US$50.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. cuts $2.4B from 2015 capital spending plan

Pumpjacks at work pumping crude oil near Halkirk, Alta., June 20, 2007. (Larry MacDougal / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

The Canadian Press
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is pausing one oilsands project while pressing ahead with another as the major oil and gas producer becomes the latest to slash its 2015 spending in the face of deteriorating oil prices.

The Calgary-based oil and gas giant (TSX:CNQ) built flexibility into the $8.6-billion budget it announced in November. Oil prices have fallen dramatically since then, so this year's spending now is expected to come in at $6.2 billion.

The company also expects to continue to grow output compared with 2014 but at a slower pace -- seven per cent, rather than the original target of 11 per cent.

North American benchmark crude has been trading below US$50 a barrel, less than half of where it was just six months ago.

Alberta | Low oil price means $500M budget deficit

Alberta Premier Jim Prentice gives a state-of-the-province address in Edmonton, Alberta on December 9, 2014. Alberta Premier Jim Prentice says oil prices have plunged so far so fast that this year's projected budget surplus will now be a $500-million deficit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franso

Dean Bennett  The Canadian PressAlberta Premier Jim Prentice says oil prices have plunged so far so fast that this year’s projected budget surplus will now be a $500-million deficit.

And he says while his advisers expect oil to rebound slowly over the coming years, the budget may remain in deficit until 2018.

“It’s the most serious fiscal circumstance we’ve seen in a generation in this province,” Prentice said in an interview Thursday.

“Things have turned so dramatically that we’ve gone from a $1.5-billion surplus in November to what looks like a $500-million deficit based on today’s projections.

Despite Tight Budget, Canadian Aid to Haiti Will Continue

Men carry water in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after a powerful earthquake hit the country on January 12, 2010. AP

Terry Pedwell The Canadian PressCanada urged the Haitian government on Thursday to call elections soon, as the Caribbean nation teetered yet again on the brink of collapse.

But while Haiti tries to resolve a mounting political crisis, Canadian officials say aid money will continue to flow to help rebuild a nation still struggling with the devastation of a deadly earthquake five years ago.

Canada has been reviewing its aid commitment to Haiti for nearly a year and says problems persist with co-ordination of aid efforts, largely as a result of a lack of accountability and transparency on the part of the Haitian government.

Federal government posts $3.2B deficit for October

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper responds to a question during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on December 3, 2014. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Stephanie Levitz | The Canadian PressThe federal Conservatives’ pre-election promises targeted at families are already starting to take a toll on the country’s books.

The new income splitting plan and the doubling of the children’s fitness tax credit helped create a $3.2 billion deficit in October, according to data released by the Finance Department on Monday.

That’s twice as fat a deficit than would otherwise have been the case. The tax changes resulted in a $1.6-billion adjustment to revenue and, without that, Ottawa would have posted a deficit of just $1.6-billion for the month.

The Conservatives had pledged in the 2011 election campaign to introduce income splitting for families. This fall, they rolled out a slightly-amended version, as well as an increase to the fitness tax credit, both of which families can claim on their 2014 taxes, and just in time for the 2015 election.