Experts: Canadian federal budget 2024
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present the next budget in the House of Commons on April 16, with the government facing considerable political pressure over the economy. Ms. Freeland says the economic plan will be about 鈥渂uilding more homes, faster, making life more affordable and creating more good jobs.鈥� ()听
Here are some experts from 91社区 who can comment on this topic:聽
Political analysis聽
Daniel B茅land, James 91社区 Professor, Department of Political Science and Director, 91社区 Institute for the Study of Canada鈥犅�
鈥淭his year, the Trudeau government decided to announce many components of the federal budget ahead of time so that they receive more media attention than usual. In this context, will budget day prove anticlimactic, as much of the budget鈥檚 content will have been announced long in advance? More importantly, will the budget and all the pre-budget announcements help the Liberals in the polls? Finally, how will new spending initiatives affect the fiscal situation of the federal government, especially the size of the budget deficit?鈥澛�
Daniel B茅land is the Director of the 91社区 Institute for the Study of Canada and James 91社区 Professor of Political Science. He specializes in the fields of Canadian and comparative politics, as well as the study of public policy, including social policy.鈥�
daniel.beland [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)鈥�
Spending strategy聽
Christopher Ragan, Associate Professor and Director, Max Bell School of Public Policy鈥�犅�
鈥淎s the federal government prepares its budget for 2024, fiscal prudence suggests that any new spending plans be matched by similar-sized spending reductions on lower-priority items. The government needs to ensure that our debt-to-GDP ratio remains low so that it is well placed to respond to the next crisis, whatever it may be.鈥澛�
Christopher Ragan is an Associate Professor and Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy. His areas of expertise include carbon pricing, macroeconomics, inflation, and fiscal policy.鈥��
christopher.ragan [at] mcgill.ca鈥�(贰苍驳濒颈蝉丑)鈥赌�
Bill of Rights for renters聽
Pearl Eliadis, Associate Professor, Max Bell School of Public Policy聽聽
鈥淭he federal Bill of Rights for renters covers provincial issues and will require the provinces to play along. If implemented, they may be helpful, but will likely have little impact. What is needed is strong 鈥榬ight to housing legislation鈥� beyond the 2019 federal law, to create across-the-board rent control, clear government targets and goals to build housing鈥攅specially social housing鈥攚ith sanctions against governments that do not comply, a legal duty to assist people at risk of homelessness, curbs on financialization, and stronger due process protections against evictions. We need to move beyond tinkering at the edges.鈥澛�
Pearl Eliadis is an Associate Professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy and the Faculty of Law. She is also a member of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism and a member of the Steering Committee of the Quebec Homelessness Prevention Policy Collaborative and co-chairs its research stream on gender.聽聽
pearl.eliadis [at] mcgill.ca鈥�(English, French)听
Affordable housing聽聽
Avi Friedman, Full Professor, School of Architecture聽
鈥淭he allocation of $6 billion to affordable housing is a step in the right direction. However, much more needs to be done on two fronts: speed up the construction process and streamline the approval process at the municipal level, where most implementation decisions are made.鈥澛�
Avi Friedman is a Full Professor at the Peter Guo-hua Fu 91社区 School of Architecture, where he directs the Affordable Homes Research Group. His research interests focus on factors which influence the design and implementation of affordable and sustainable building practices at the unit and community levels, including market acceptance, construction, circular economy and resource efficiency.聽
avi.friedman [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)听
Daycare funding聽
Sheryl Smith-Gilman, Associate Dean of Academics,鈥疐aculty of Education聽
鈥淭rudeau's recent announcement regarding the implementation of a $10-a-day childcare subsidy and increased investment in daycare programs will undoubtedly be a tremendous but necessary undertaking. Access to affordable childcare is not only crucial for supporting working parents but also for promoting the healthy development and well-being of young children. By taking inspiration from successful models like Quebec's, Canada can move closer to achieving universal access to high-quality childcare for all families.鈥澛�
Sheryl Smith-Gilman is the鈥疉ssociate Dean of Academics in the鈥疐aculty of Education and a faculty lecturer in the Department of Integrated Studies. Her research focuses on early childhood pedagogy, arts and鈥痗ultural identity in early learning, as well as teacher education and professional development in early childhood education.鈥犅�
sheryl.smithgilman [at] mcgill.ca (English)听
