By the time you read this, Finance Minister Paul Martin may have already announced his intention to table a full budget before Christmas. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. Before September 11, the economy was already in the tank. Bank rate cuts of historic proportions on both sides of the border, manufacturing output down, unemployment up and Canadian productivity lagging well behind that of our American counterparts.

Although the CTF originally predicted late November for a budget, it was a touch optimistic. Instead, pencil in the week of December 10th for a budget from Paul Martin. This date allows the government to drop-in the data from the 3rd quarter of 2001 due out on November 30th.

Everything is already well in motion for this budget - departments and agencies are (or have) completed their annual expenditure re-profiling (fast-tracked for this year) exercises, Minister Martin has met with the elite coterie of private sector economists, the Finance Committee is wrapping up its hearings (also fast-tracked) and will write its report for early November, and final one-time and base-budget calculations for new and enhanced public security measures have been submitted.

The government must remember that national security is a function of fiscal security. In the race to meet public demands for increased security (and its consequent comfort factor through anxiety reduction), Ottawa must not abandon its (read: our) hard won progress to balance the budget, pay down debt and lighten the federal tax burden.

The budget must reallocate funds from low priority areas (ie: corporate welfare, broadband boondoggles, etc.) to where they are needed: RCMP; CSIS; CSE; National Defence; and refugee screening, just to list a few. Although some of Minster Martin's cabinet colleagues will no doubt whine about the impact of such cuts on their leadership ambitions (Brian Tobin, come on down!), it is the right thing to do.

Nine rate cuts in ten months south of the border have cut the U.S. prime rate from 6.5% to 2.5%. Here at home, eight cuts in ten months have lowered the Bank Rate from 6% to 3%. On May 17th, Paul Martin projected this year's economic growth at 2.5% and the 2002 clip at 3.4%. We now know that this year's rate will be 1.5% at best, with next year forecast at a sluggish 1.2%

Personal and corporate tax collections will be way down, EI payments way up due to 100,000 plus layoffs so far this year and several billion dollars are needed for the war on terrorism. A December 11th budget (for example) will mark 653 days since the last budget on February 28, 2000 - and some 420 days since the October 18th mini-budget before the Fall 2000 election. Oh well, better late than never.

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All this talk about a temporary suspension of the GST on new car sales is nonsense. Taxes encourage or discourage behaviour. High income taxes (personal and corporate) discourage wealth creation. If people can't create more wealth for themselves, cutting sales taxes is counterproductive. Moreover, experience has shown that short-term sales tax cuts simply stimulate demand during their suspension, but once re-applied, the economy returns to its previous dismal state, if not tanking further.

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So Ottawa made a $1.5 million mistake and ordered the anti-anthrax drug Cipro from generic drug manufacturer Apotex instead of Bayer, the company that has the patent to produce it in Canada. Fair enough, a mistake was made but mistakes have consequences. If Health Minister Allan Rock won't fire the bureaucrat responsible, then the Prime Minister should fire Mr. Rock.