OTTAWA -- Ottawa's surplus could reach $7 billion and will
definitely beat earlier projections of how much is available for a pre-election
budget, say private-sector forecasters. But that doesn't guarantee deficits
might not happen in the future, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said yesterday
after a meeting with economists.
Finance officials report Ottawa's surplus hit $5.2 billion
in the first nine months of this fiscal year -- thanks largely to a whopping
$5.1 billion in corporate taxes in December, most paid by Canada's big banks.
Goodale said the latest numbers make him feel "encouraged"
that in next month's budget, he'll be able to pay off debt, make some down payments
on recent throne speech promises and still balance the books.
Goodale acknowledged the economists urged caution and reduced
spending.
Lingering economic uncertainty means Ottawa shouldn't become
so obsessed with balanced books, "come hell or high water," that it
risks choking the economy in a downturn, said Jeff Rubin, chief economist with
CIBC World Markets.
"I just hope we don't lock ourselves into some sort of
ideological straitjacket where we feel we're compelled to run these surpluses
no matter what happens."
