‘I’m busy doing my job’, Flaherty Says of Recession, $50B Deficit

(Video: CTF/Global TV • Story: CBC News)



Finance minister rejects opposition parties’ calls for his resignation

The $50-billion deficit Canada is facing this fiscal year is necessary to help Canadians weather the worst economic recession since the Second World War, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Thursday, rejecting calls from the opposition to resign.

“I’m busy doing my job. There’s a global recession going on,” Flaherty told CBC News.

Flaherty announced Tuesday the deficit will rise by more than $16 billion in 2009-10 from the $34 billion he forecast in January’s budget.

The announcement prompted calls from the opposition on Wednesday for him to step down. Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called Flaherty’s handling of the global recession “incompetence on a historic scale.”

Flaherty said Thursday the projected deficit only represents about 3.3 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. That pales compared to the 10 per cent and greater deficits Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States are facing, Flaherty said. Read more here.