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The Observer | Saturday, March 01, 2008
Stage show recreates the feel of jazz’s golden age .................................... »23 Kings win first game of series
»19 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 09
SATURDAY, MARCH 01, 2008
www.ObserverXtra.com ObserverXtra.com
PRICELESS
here tOday ... What was a series of buildings at the corner of Arthur and Church streets in downtown Elmira on Monday was nothing more than a pile of rubble by week’s end. Once home to Voisin Motors and Dreisinger Furniture, pHOTO | JOE MERLIHAN among others, the stretch is being redeveloped, possibly for retail use. There is talk of a new-format Shopper’s Drug Mart on the site.
Ottawa dishes up a stand-pat budget Few goodies and few surprises helps maintain the status quo, fendsoff an election as Liberals back it MARC MIQUEL HELSEN Saying the cupboard is bare, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty handed down a sparse budget Tuesday. A long way from what Canadians have seen in recent years, the budget contained relatively little new spending and few
tax breaks. It also served to keep the Conservative government in power, as the Liberals quickly said they would not bring the government down over the document. Kitchener-Conestoga MP Harold Albrecht said his government delivered a budget in keeping with current concerns over the economy.
“I think it’s a very responsible budget. It’s a balanced budget and I don’t mean just in terms of the deficit being balanced, but the area that it addresses.” The budget includes $500 million for public transit, and makes permanent a transfer of $2 billion in gas-tax revenues for municipal infrastruc-
ture projects. How much of that will make its way to Waterloo Region remains to be seen, however. Also on tap is an extension of the accelerated capital cost allowance for manufacturers, more investment in municipal capital infrastructure, and a commitment to reducing the federal debt – the $10.2 billion
surplus for this year (ending Mar. 31) was set aside for debt reduction. With the end of the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the government will also put $350 million into a new Canada Student Grant Program in 2009-10. That amount will hit $430 million in three years. See BUDGET page »05