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Putting the Plan to Work Quickly
Canada's Economic Action Plan is designed to boost the economy when it is needed most: now and over the next 24 months. To achieve this, the Government has taken extraordinary steps, including through the tax system, the Employment Insurance system, direct spending by the federal and provincial governments, and lending by financial Crown corporations.
In only 42 days since the Economic Action Plan was presented, the Government has done what it needs to do to make the Plan fully operational by April 1. This is six to 12 months ahead of the usual budget timeframe.
Virtually all Cabinet policy approvals are expected to be in place by the end of March.
The Budget Implementation Act, 2009, which is now before the Senate, includes $7.6 billion in spending authorities and seeks Parliamentary approval of $2.4 billion in tax reductions in 2009-10.
The 2009-10 Main Estimates include a new central Vote to enable Treasury Board Ministers to allocate up to $3 billion in funding directly to departments for immediate cash requirements directly related to measures in the Economic Action Plan until formal Supplementary Estimates for these initiatives have received the usual Parliamentary approval. This will be used to fund Economic Action Plan measures directly.
The Canada Revenue Agency is administering a number of the proposed tax reductions in accordance with the Notices of Ways and Means Motion tabled with the Budget.
Budget Implementation - The Usual Process vs. Budget 2009 Accelerated Approach
| Steps in the Process | Timelines | Time savings | |
| Usual Process | Accelerated Approach | ||
| 1. Tabling of Budget | Late February | January 27 | 1 month |
| 2. Passage of Budget legislation | 3 - 4 months after tabling | 1½ months after tabling | 1 - 2 months |
| 3. Cabinet and Treasury Board approval of new initiatives | 3 - 8 months | 1 - 2 months | 2 - 6 months |
| 4. Appropriation of funding for new measures | 4 - 10 months | Part of funding available at start of fiscal year (Main Estimates, BIA); Remaining supply 5 months after the Budget | 2 - 5 months |
Following this approach, by April 1, 2009, the Government will have authority to proceed with providing about $20 billion in measures, representing close to 90 percent of the stimulus described in the Economic Action Plan for 2009-10.
The Government will act aggressively to implement the remaining portions of the Plan, although
doing so will depend on the degree of cooperation and engagement of our key partners. The most
important task at hand is passage of the budget in the Senate and passage of the Estimates in the
House of Commons and Senate. This is necessary to ensure that budget actions - like building
roads and bridges, reducing taxes, supporting Canadians hardest hit by the economic downturn and
helping communities adjust and grow - move forward now when they are needed most.
