2006 Canadian federal budget

2006 (2006) Budget of the Canadian Federal Government
C-13
PresentedMay 2, 2006
PassedJune 6, 2006
Parliament39th
PartyConservative
Finance ministerJim Flaherty
Total revenueC$236 billion[1]
Total expendituresC$222.2 billion[1]
Program SpendingC$188.3 billion[1]
Debt paymentC$33.9 billion[1]
SurplusC$13.8 billion[1]
DebtC$467.3 billion[1]
Websitehttp://www.fin.gc.ca/budget06/pdf/bp2006e.pdf Focusing on Priorities
‹ 2005
2007

The Canadian federal budget for the fiscal year 2006–07, was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on May 2, 2006. Among the most notable elements of the federal budget were its reduction of the Goods and Services Tax by one percentage point, income tax cuts for middle-income earners, and $1,200-per-child childcare payment (the "Universal Child Care Benefit") for Canadian parents.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the bill an indication of what Canadians should expect from his Conservative minority government. Many aspects of the bill were criticized by opposition parties. The Liberal Party and New Democratic Party indicated that they would not support the budget, while the Bloc Québécois indicated that it would vote in favour of it.

On June 6, 2006, the budget was introduced for a third reading in the House of Commons. Amid an apparent mix-up, no Members of Parliament rose to speak. Thus, the budget was declared passed by unanimous consent a week ahead of schedule.[2][3]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Department of Finance (October 30, 2007). "Strong Leadership. A Better Canada" (PDF). Economic Statement. Canadian Department of Finance. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2008. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
  2. ^ Federal budget passes unopposed on mix-up from CBC News
  3. ^ The proceedings from June 6th included some confused comments by MPs and clarifications by Deputy Speaker Bill Blaikie confirming that the Bill C13 had been passed: "Order, please. There seems to be some confusion in the House. It is my understanding that the bill to which the hon. member is speaking is Bill C-13 which was just passed. We have now moved to debate on Bill C-10." "It may have been the intention of some members [to debate a third reading] but before I took the Chair I observed what I thought to be the passage of Bill C-13 without any dissent, or division for that matter. I believe the matter has now been decided." "The Speaker did call for debate when the question was put on third reading and no one rose. The question was then put on third reading and the bill was carried without dissent or division. It sometimes happens in the House that the intentions people have do not always fully manifest themselves." quoted from OpenParliament.ca recorded proceedings