|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
      
|
Ottawa, April 12, 1995
1995-033
Minister of Finance Disagrees With Moodie's Assessment of Canada's Fiscal Prospects
Finance Minister Paul Martin today said he disagrees with the assessment underlying Moody's decision to downgrade Canada's domestic and foreign currency debt.
The Minister noted that in making their announcement today Moody's acknowledged that the government has recently taken "aggressive corrective actions" to address the debt situation. "Moody's main concern is the uncertainty in forecasting the medium and long term fiscal position of the public sector," Mr. Martin said.
The Minister responded that the February 27 budget contained deep and permanent structural reforms that will reduce the deficit to 3 percent of GDP in 1996-97 as an interim target toward the ultimate goal of a balanced budget.
The Minister also emphasized that the government remains firmly committed to putting and keeping the debt to GDP ratio on a permanent downward track. Mr. Martin said, "Both the Prime Minister and I have clearly stated that meeting our fiscal objectives is a key priority and we will continue to take the necessary actions to stay on track."
The Minister added, "We based our budget on prudent economic assumptions and included a sizeable contingency reserve." He noted that many analysts have commented that because of these assumptions the government will likely do better than forecast in the budget.
_____________________
For further information:
Suzanne McKellips
Financial Sector Policy Branch
(613) 992-5259
|
|
||||
| Last Updated: 2002-11-26 |
|
||||
