Canada: fewer medals, but better economic fundamentals

From the Parliamentary Bureau's Managing Editor, Paul Hambleton:

While we may have to "loan the podium" to the Americans out in Vancouver, here in Ottawa the word from a senior government official is that we're beating them at the economic game.

The Canadian economy is outperforming that of the United States, the official declared. And so in next week's budget, that will be the underlying theme, with these goals: protect jobs and create the conditions for growth, maintain competitive tax rates, open up new markets, and tackle barriers to trade.

All that and, of course, reduce the deficit and debt as the government navigates its way out of recession. No details from our senior government official on specifically how that will happen, but he did say the government "will not balance the budget on the backs of Canadians."

This senior official says big decisions still are getting made, but there are three protected zones in this budget: pensions, health care, and education. All three of these programs will see their rate of spending growth maintained.

Everything else? Expect cuts, or in gentler terms, that the rates of growth everywhere else will be "slowed."

It'll be a budget more about what it isn't about.

There won't be tax hikes, and there will be "no new spending measures" outside the roughly $20 billion already allocated under the government's economic action plan to be spent in this fiscal year.

So the spending is done. Fiscal restraint is in. Details begin rolling out next Wednesday, with the Speech from the Throne mid-afternoon, followed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's "recalibration" budget Thursday.

Stay tuned.