{"id":19858,"date":"2024-04-06T10:05:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-06T10:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/06\/canadas-federal-budget-goes-from-big-secret-to-roadshow\/"},"modified":"2024-04-06T10:05:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T10:05:10","slug":"canadas-federal-budget-goes-from-big-secret-to-roadshow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/06\/canadas-federal-budget-goes-from-big-secret-to-roadshow\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada\u2019s Federal Budget Goes From Big Secret to \u2018Roadshow\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/06\/multimedia\/06canadaletter-trudeau-twjc\/06canadaletter-trudeau-twjc-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Canada\u2019s Federal Budget Goes From Big Secret to \u2018Roadshow\u2019\" title=\"Canada\u2019s Federal Budget Goes From Big Secret to \u2018Roadshow\u2019\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Even for a country with a system of government that is prone to keeping things confidential, the secrecy that once surrounded federal budgets stood out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For decades, both Liberal and Conservative federal governments gradually eroded that once seemingly sacred concept with selective advance leaks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken it to a new level. Instead of leaks attributed to anonymous sources, the prime minister has been traveling the country to give Canadians a preview of a variety of major budget measures. Many of them appear to be intended to lure back younger voters to his Liberal Party, including spending to increase housing, expanding child care programs and introducing a national school food program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">There may be little in the way of big announcements left for Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister, to unveil when she presents the actual budget on April 16.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis preannouncement of the budget roadshow \u2014 we\u2019ve never seen that before at the prime ministerial level,\u201d Jonathan Malloy, a political scientist at Carleton University who studies Parliament, told me. \u201cThere has to be an election next year and the government is not doing well in the polls. So that\u2019s an important factor. He needs the coverage; he needs the supposed good news.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trudeau\u2019s approach is a stark contrast to the one taken by Louis St. Laurent, who was the Liberal prime minister from 1948 to 1957. To avoid having secretaries or clerks learn about budget measures in advance, Mr. St. Laurent made his finance ministers <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.budget.canada.ca\/2010\/budproc\/budproc-eng.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">personally type their budget speeches<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A vast budget secrecy machine developed over time. Copies of the federal budget were flown across the country by the air force and escorted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to branches of the Bank of Canada, where they would be locked up until the finance minister spoke. Government printers were locked down in printing plants and reporters were locked up in conference rooms, along with officials and political staffers offering spins and explanations, to review the mountain of paper in advance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cOver time, it became almost a fetish that this was just a uniquely secret document,\u201d Professor Malloy said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Leaks were taken seriously. In 1989, Doug Small, a reporter for Global TV, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/j-source.ca\/this-week-in-canadian-media-history-global-tv-leaks-the-federal-government-budget-in-1989\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">broadcast details of the upcoming budget<\/a> after obtaining a summary version from a government employee who, in turn, had received it from someone he knew at a recycling plant. Mr. Small and four other people were charged with theft and possession of stolen property. A court threw out the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Unlike budgets in the United States, Canadian budgets are not the subject of protracted negotiations and amendments. They either pass more or less as presented or the government falls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">So the most common explanation for the secrecy is that it prevents people from taking advantage of, say, tax changes to profit financially. Professor Malloy said, however, that there was little evidence of people trying to do that in the past.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But keeping the major piece of legislation secret until the last minute, he said, can allow governments to bury, or at least divert attention from, potentially unpopular measures within it. Tamping down leaks also prevented lobbying within the government by departments looking for more money, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The decline in budget secrecy may also reflect the diminished economic importance of the budget itself. When Canada\u2019s economy was more isolated and less driven by global forces, government tax and spending changes had more profound effects on it. So much so that during the 1960s, the accounting office in Windsor, Ontario, where my father was a partner annually installed a Telex machine to immediately, if noisily, spew out the text of the budget.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf you go back to St. Laurent and further in the past, the budget was more about affecting the economy,\u201d Professor Malloy said. \u201cBut over time, the budget became storytelling. It\u2019s less about how we\u2019re going to shape the economy now. It\u2019s more about what the government is doing in general.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-b4a7c02\">Trans Canada<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<ul class=\"css-1le37cb ez3869y0\">\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">My colleague Norimitsu Onishi traveled to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, to write about how <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/30\/world\/canada\/rouyn-noranda-immigration-africa.html\" title=\"\">African immigrants have revived<\/a> a remote mining community. Nasuna Stuart-Ulin, a photographer based in Montreal, also vividly captured the scene.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">This week, the commission on foreign interference in elections released details from a top-secret intelligence report that warned about <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/03\/world\/americas\/canada-china-2021-election.html\" title=\"\">continuing attempts by the Chinese government<\/a> to meddle in specific Canadian government races in 2021. And Han Dong, a former Liberal member of Parliament, testified that high school <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/02\/world\/canada\/canada-election-china-han-dong.html\" title=\"\">students from China were transported by bus to vote<\/a> for him.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual citizen of the United States and Canada, was one of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/02\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-aid-world-central-kitchen-workers-killed.html\" title=\"\">seven World Central Kitchen workers who were killed<\/a> in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Eleanor Collins, who was widely regarded as <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/29\/arts\/music\/eleanor-collins-dead.html\" title=\"\">Canada\u2019s \u201cfirst lady of jazz\u201d<\/a> during the 1950s and was known for her mastery of the standards as well as her commanding performances on radio, early television specials and in nightclubs around Vancouver, has died. She was 104.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Joe Flaherty, an actor who played a variety of characters <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/02\/arts\/joe-flaherty-dead.html\" title=\"\">on \u201cSCTV\u201d including Guy Caballero,<\/a> the sleazy president of the station; Sammy Maudlin, an unctuous late-night talk-show host; and Count Floyd, a host of \u201cMonster Chiller Horror Theater,\u201d has died. He was 82.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Michael and Gerald Shvartsman, two Canadian brothers, have each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud in a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/03\/business\/trump-media-insider-trading-guilty.html\" title=\"\">Trump Media insider-trading scheme<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">The On Location feature in Real Estate looked into the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/02\/realestate\/newfoundland-canada-saltbox-house-renovation.html\" title=\"\">renovation of two saltbox houses<\/a> in Salvage, Newfoundland.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University have found that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/03\/science\/how-a-snake-uses-its-sense-of-smell.html\" title=\"\">garter snakes can distinguish themselves from others,<\/a> using not sight but scent.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Eric Asimov, the chief wine critic of The New York Times, singled out Dear Margaret, a French Canadian restaurant, for having <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/dining\/drinks\/best-chicago-wine-lists.html\" title=\"\">one of the best wine lists in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"css-1i3ul0c eoqvrfo0\">\n<p class=\"css-1il0jfh evys1bk0\">Michael Roston, a senior editor on the Health and Science desk, explained how he would be coordinating Vjosa Isai, me and 28 other journalists to cover the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/04\/insider\/how-the-times-reports-on-total-solar-ec.html\" title=\"\">total solar eclipse that will travel from Mexico<\/a> through the United States and then Eastern Canada on Monday. The Times has also prepared <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/total-solar-eclipse.html\" title=\"\">a guide to eclipse viewing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ian Austen was educated in Toronto, lives in Ottawa and has reported about Canada for The New York Times for two decades. Follow him on Bluesky at <\/em><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/ianausten.bsky.social\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">@ianausten.bsky.social<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 e1gzwzxm0\">.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\"\/>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">How are we doing?<\/strong><br \/>We\u2019re eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/06\/world\/americas\/mailto:nytcanada@nytimes.com?%20subject=Canada%20Letter%20Newsletter%20Feedback\" title=\"\">nytcanada@nytimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">Like this email?<\/strong><br \/>Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/newsletters\/canada-letter?smid=nytemail&amp;smvar=canadaletter&amp;te=1&amp;nl=canada-today&amp;emc=edit_cnda_20190622\" title=\"\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/06\/world\/americas\/canadas-federal-budget.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Even for a country with a system of government that is prone to keeping things confidential, the secrecy that once surrounded federal budgets stood out. For decades, both Liberal and Conservative federal governments gradually eroded that once seemingly sacred concept with selective advance leaks. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken it to a new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/06\/multimedia\/06canadaletter-trudeau-twjc\/06canadaletter-trudeau-twjc-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[995,5002,6379,7559,5302,5054],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19858"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19860,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19858\/revisions\/19860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}