Liberals’ first budget an easy sell to Canadians: Tim Harper

This Trudeau budget also illustrates the box in which New Democrats are living. Unelectable when promising big deficits and unbelieved when promising to balance the budget, New Democrats will look at Tuesday’s budget in frustration, because this really could be delivered only by Liberals.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett, pictured with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission closing ceremonies. The Liberals' first budget made an $8.4-billion investment for indigenous peoples, including $40-million over two years for the national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, $96-million over five years to aboriginal representative organizations, $2.6-billion over five years for on reserve primary and secondary education, $969.4-million over five years for First Nations education infrastructure on reserve, $634.8-million over five years for First Nations children, and $554.3-million over two years to improve housing among others.The Hill Times photograph by Jake Wright

Opinion

BY TIM HARPER

March 23, 2016

OTTAWA—Welcome to the era of deficits and dreams. Some of the dreams are deferred, but the deficits seem cast in stone. Here’s betting, however, that Canadians will not give much thought to a $29.4-billion deficit that scales down, but does not disappear, during the Liberal mandate. Rookie Fi...

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