November 15, 2022

Last week I forwarded to you the analysis of the Government of Canada’s Fall Economic Statement from one of my clients, Sussex Strategy Group.

I am pleased to provide with another analysis by Sussex this week, which looks at the Fall Economic Statement delivered by the Government of Ontario yesterday.
 
Sussex is an experienced and highly respected government relations firm that offers strategic and consulting services. I find their reports informative and insightful, and I hope you will also.

Please contact me with any employment questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.

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2022 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review

This afternoon, Ontario’s Finance Minister, Hon. Peter Bethlenfalvy, delivered the first fiscal report of the Ford Government’s second mandate. Billed by the government as the first-ever progress report on its plan to build Ontario, the Fall Economic Statement (FES) made clear the government will keep pursuing the economic agenda it laid out in the March 2022 Budget and on which it was re-elected in June 2022.

True to the report’s title, Ontario’s Plan to Build: A Progress Update, today’s FES spends nearly as much time highlighting the progress made-to-date on the 2022 Budget’s priorities as it does laying out new programs and initiatives.

The FES is a legal obligation, providing an update on the annual Budget about halfway through the fiscal year. In recent years, these updates have often served as “mini-budgets,” introducing new programs, tax breaks, or other policies to address changed economic conditions, fiscal situation or (in truth) political circumstances. Arguably, economic conditions have changed since the 2022 Budget was unveiled in March. Yet, as the first fiscal review from a newly re-elected government, the continuity signaled by today’s FES should not come as a surprise. Had the Ford government moved too radically from its platform this soon after re-election, it could have raised a red flag to investors, financial markets, and others that the economic headwinds Ontario is facing are much stronger than people are forecasting.

Below, we have broken down the numbers that were delivered today, along with a summary of the key progress reports and significant new initiatives.

Click »» here to read the full Analysis from Sussex Strategy Group

November 7, 2022

Last Thursday, November 3, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland presented the Government of Canada’s Fall Economic Statement.

As I have done in the past, I am pleased to provide you with this analysis of the Statement with the permission of one of my clients, Sussex Strategies, an experienced and highly respected government relations firm that offers strategic and consulting services. I find their reports informative and insightful, and I hope you will also.

Please contact me with any employment questions you may have or for assistance working through your staffing matters.

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Federal Government Releases 2022 Fall Economic Statement

This afternoon Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland released the federal Fall Economic Statement 2022 (“FES”).

With the FES, Prime Minister Trudeau and his government have tried to strike a delicate balance between competing imperatives. On the one hand, the government recognizes the need for further investments in economic growth, innovation, productivity, and the green transition to ensure Canada’s economy continues to create good-paying jobs and prosperity while combatting climate change. 

On the other hand, Canada is now in a post-COVID period marked by uncertainty with a looming recession, global supply chain shortages and geopolitical insecurity. Prudent fiscal management – keeping some powder dry for the challenges ahead – informed the government’s approach. In her speech, Minister Freeland noted that as economic challenges come to bear, the government will be able to invest in the Canadian economy “because we were prudent in April, and because we are being prudent today.”

For private sector companies and their trade associations, there is plenty of opportunity to engage with the government as the FES is implemented and Budget 2023 is crafted. Significant new spending measures were announced in the green infrastructure sector, and there are a number of tax consultations planned for the months ahead. Conspicuously absent were commitments related to other key files including health, agriculture and defence. Much work will be done between now and the spring to ensure that those key sectors are recognized within Budget 2023.

Click »» here to read the full Analysis from Sussex Strategy Group