In Depth
Federal Budget 2007
Business quotes
Business reaction to budget generally positive
March 19, 2007
CBC News
Canada's business community had generally positive things to say about Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's second budget Monday, even though it wasn't the focus of Flaherty's tax cuts.
Here are some of the reactions from the country's business and labour leaders:
"On behalf of Canada's 220,000 retailers, the Retail Council of Canada welcomes the modest tax relief measures included in the 2007-2008 Federal Budget. Lower taxes will have a positive effect on the real disposable incomes of all hard-working Canadians and this is good news for the retailers who serve them."
— Diane J. Brisebois, CEO, Retail Council of Canada.
"While this budget delivers some good news, it also let a real opportunity slip by. We are disappointed however that overall government spending continues to significantly outpace the growth of the economy in the current fiscal year and next year. Canada's business community would have liked to see the government demonstrate better fiscal responsibility by curbing overall spending and providing more immediate tax relief to Canadian taxpayers and businesses."
— Nancy Hughes Anthony, CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"Today's budget earns a solid B because it is a step in the right direction. There are some significant benefits for individual Canadians and businesses in this budget. Yet we are disappointed it does not include broader-based tax reductions for individuals and businesses that would help sustain Canada's economic health for future generations."
— Kevin Dancey, CEO, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
"The Working Income Tax Benefit announced in today's budget is small when compared to the steep financial hurdles that many Canadians face in terms of entering and remaining in the job market. It will do little to encourage labour-force participation or reduce the high cost of working for low-income Canadians."
— Ron Reaman, vice-president, Canadian Restaurant and Foodservice Association
"This is a budget by a government looking solely at the short-term, with continued corporate tax cuts and a complete failure to understand the role government must play to strengthen the nation's industrial base. The corporate tax incentives to invest in new plants and equipment are welcome news but still too little too late for many Canadians whose entire communities have been literally wiped off the map by runaway companies."
— Ken Newmann, national director, United Steelworkers
"The federal budget adds up to a plan of short-term political opportunism, and lays out a road map for privatization of infrastructure. This is a government that is abandoning the leadership necessary to strengthen social programs."
— Paul Moist, national president, Canadian Union of Public Employees
"This budget is good news for Canada's manufacturers and exporters, as well as for the economy as a whole. Accelerating the capital cost allowance will help manufacturers cope with a rising dollar, boost cash flow, and allow them to make the investments they need to remain competitive."
— Perrin Beatty, CEO, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
"Oilsands producers will be disappointed because … the accelerated capital cost allowance for these very capital-intensive projects is a very significant component of the economic driver for doing the projects in the first place. So the large multibillion-dollar projects that we're seeing will have to be re-evaluated."
— Sue Riddell Rose, spokesperson, Canadian Coalition of Energy Trusts
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