Finance Minister’s pre-budget road trip ends in Calgary
by The Canadian Press
Bill Morneau says the government is paying close attention to oil prices and the Canadian dollar as it crafts its budget
CALGARY—Finance Minister Bill Morneau is visiting the financial heart of the oilpatch as he wraps up a week of pre-budget consultations.
Morneau will meet today with members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and leaders from the energy and environmental sectors as low oil prices continue to gnaw at Alberta’s economy.
The finance minister has trumpeted the Liberal government’s stimulus spending plan in the face of falling crude prices and a loonie that dropped below the 70-cent US mark this week.
Morneau has said the government is paying close attention to oil prices and the Canadian dollar as it crafts its budget, expected in March.
The Liberals have promised an additional fi$5 billion in infrastructure spending in each of the first two years of their mandate.