1. Introduction
Understanding the financial condition of a province is integral for assisting provincial governments in future policy-making and program decision-making. Defined by the 2009 Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) a financial condition is characterized as, "a broad and complex with both short-term and long-term implications that describes a government's financial health in the context of the overall economic and financial environment" (SORP-4, 2009). Specifically, financial conditions are able to illustrate the ability of governments in sustaining public services, funding new programs and meeting financial obligations. In conducting a financial condition evaluation, Andrew Graham in his text, Canadian Public-Sector Financial Management states that there needs to be "an analysis of the financial status of a government organization based on a financial statement analysis as well as an evaluation of external factors that affect the financial condition of the government, or part thereof, such as the wealth of the population, employment rates, interest rates, service demand, or the general economy" (Graham, pg. 219, 2007). In other words, both internal and external factors, that can influence a government's finances, must be inspected and evaluated in order to
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In conducting a comparative analysis of these three provinces, new understanding will be obtained by providing a broader perspective on these financial conditions. Provinces will be able to evaluate against one another and provide understanding through comparison. This will provide "concept" for policy decision by comparing financial conditions in a larger setting and background thereby allowing “success” to be measured by how well a province's financial condition is in comparison to another province's financial
...portunities for service provisions. The structural reforms cut the number of municipalities in half and implemented larger, single-tiered municipalities. The legislative reforms allowed for municipalities to have autonomy away from provincial control. After assessing the previously mentioned reforms, this paper determines that it is crucial to evaluate the behavior tendencies of the municipalities and the province when measuring the impact of these changes. For a long period of time, and arguably still to this day, municipalities have viewed themselves as creatures of the province. Further, the province of Ontario has taken a paternal and protective role over the municipalities (Graham and Phillips 179-209). In conclusion, even with financial, functional, structural and legislative reforms, these roles of the municipalities and province will not be changing quickly.
The global economy has been recovering from the financial crisis which occurs in 2008, then has a weak growth for most developed countries over 2012 and 2013. But economic activity in Canada has expanded at a faster pace than most other major advanced countries in 2012; however, economic performance in Canada has been unsteady throughout 2013 (The Economic review, 2013). After the last quarter in 2010 GDP growth rate grows rapidly, the GDP grows slowly but steadily in 2012 which remains at around 3 percent. Real GDP growth rate in Canada grows slowly in the first quarter of 2013, but increased by 5 percent in the second quarter ,then remains the same level until the first quarter of 2014 (Statistics Canada, 2014). In 2014, the Canadian government take a series economic action plan as a guide for the economy development such as improving investment conditions, ...
The country needs to start monitoring how the government is spending the federal budget and they need to start splitting it fairly to benefit our country. 83% of the federal budget is spent on the Big Five which are the main expenses in the budget. We have to stop spending it all on the Big Five. Our government should really pay attention to what we need most of in this country and focus on the needs. The government needs to take away 20% of the Big Five and split it to categories that need it.
The first argument of this paper shall discuss the use of fiscal federalism as a highly beneficial and worthwhile cost for maintenance of policy proposals. As fiscal federalism is defined as “understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are best placed in the sphere of decentralized levels of government” , it will be witnessed that the decentralized use of fiscal federalism is its best use. Fiscal federalism refers to vertical imbalances where the central government gives too much or too little money to lower levels of government. If local governments and...
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in poverty. If the government had started to provide efficient support to help decrease the rates of poverty, this would not have been such a significant issue in Canada. Even though the issue of poverty has always been affecting countries regardless of the efforts being made to fight against it, the government of Canada still needs to take charge and try to bring the percentage of poverty down to ensure that Canada is a suitable place to live. Therefore, due to the lack of support and social assistance from the government, poverty has drastically increased in Canada.
Frist, federalism is the division of power between the provinces and the federal government (Cutler 2010, 3). As well, Federal systems tend to be made up of multiple parts, which do not necessarily work together (Brock 2008, 3). There has been an increase on the study of federalism in recent years, which has created a more in-depth look at how federalism impacts the government. (Farfard Rocher 2009, 294). There are two aspects of federalism and both of them put limitations on the influence of the prime minister. The first is called political asymmetry; this encompasses the various attitudes of the different provinces such as the culture, economic, social and political conditions and how it shapes the relationship between the provincial and federal governments (Brock 2008, 4). This can create a problem for the federal government because it means that they may ha...
Regionalism is a political ideology based on a collective sense of place or attachment, and is discussed in terms of Canadian society, culture, economy and politics (Westfall, 3). Canada is known internationally as a nation incorporating several multiregional interests and identities into its unification of culture. Its diverse population is comprised of numerous ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations and traditions; and all resides under one federal government. Ever since the founding of Canada, it has developed into regional cleavages and identities, based on various geographical topologies, lifestyles and economic interests (Westfall, 6). It is these characteristics which make it problematic for the federal government to represent all demands of its people on a national level. Regionalism is thus an issue within regards to political proficiency in the Federal government.
During the course of this paper, we hope to give the reader a better understanding of the economic forces at play that influence this Nation's GDP, in therefore its economic health.
People outside of Canada are baffled at how Canada ended up in such a state of affairs. Canada as a country has a lot going for it. A high GNP, and high per capita income in international terms. It is ranked at the top of the...
The federal level ensures public safety for all Canadian citizens during times of terrorism and natural disasters, reassuring individuals that their safety is a top priority. The provincial government provides an organized foundation for the education systems as they are able to assist and encourage individuals who are of age to attend school. At the same time, they ensure the health care system is being funded appropriately and is sustaining all necessary health related needs for citizens. Finally, the municipal government guarantees that waste management is taken into account and is being done so in a societal and environmentally cautions manor. The municipal level as well is sufficient when it comes to water regulation and treating and distributing water to households amongst a city. Overall, the Canadian government not only meets, but exceeds my expectations when putting into account the most important issues I believe they are
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Alternative Federal Budget 2011, Report: Rethink, Rebuild, Renew (pg. 69, 70, 72, 75) Retrieved from: http://www.policyalternatives.ca/AFB2011
What do you understand by the phrase “stakeholder analysis”? Attempt a stakeholder analysis of an organisation that you are closely associated with.
Budgeting Assignment A company's budget serves as a guideline in planning and committing costs in order to meet tactical and strategic goals. Tactical goals such as providing budgetary costs for daily operations, and strategic objectives that include R&D, production, marketing, and distribution are all part of the budgeting process. Serving as a guideline rather than being set in stone, the budget is a snapshot of a manager's "best thinking at the time it is prepared." (Marshall, 2003, p.496)
To conclude, in the present Canadians are seeing change in PSE funding policies begin to come from the provinces. Due to the fact that “when Ottawa went against the grain and launched the Millennium Scholarship programs, provincial feathers, especially Quebec’s, were immediately ruffled,” provinces such as Quebec and British Columbia, among others, were motivated to “set up their own research funding agencies with the view to [maximize] the likelihood of obtaining funds from Ottawa,” (Bakvis 216). As for the legitimacy of cooperative federalism in Canada today, it seems as though executive federalism itself is turning largely paternalistic – at least in the sense of PSE. More often than not, in PSE funding, the federal government has taken the initiative while “one set of executives – those from provincial governments – was largely absent,” (Bakvis 218).
In order to assess the current state of the economy, the examination of important economic indicators or variables has always played a vital role in the understanding of the complex economic systems we live in. The analysis of these economic variables studied by many, not only has served as a tool to evaluate the current economic performance of a country, but also has allowed experts to envisage and continue the pavement of an economy's road. Currently, some economic variables have had favorable improvements indicating a general good outlook for the economy for the following months, requiring a further individual analysis and comparisons in order to foresee crisis or successes.