Canadian government passes budget, avoids snap elections - Yahoo! News

Canadian government passes budget, avoids snap elections - Yahoo! News: "Canadian government passes budget, avoids snap elections" OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority government on Tuesday passed its budget, easily surviving the last in a series of parliamentary votes on the fiscal measures to avoid snap elections. MPs voted 125 to 90 in favor of the budget, with most of the main opposition Liberals abstaining. The Conservative government had previously said it would not entertain any changes to the budget. Both the Bloc Quebecois and New Democrats had vowed to vote against the bill. But Liberal opposition leader Stephane Dion pledged not to try to topple the government now. Last week, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivered a "prudent" budget, touting Canada's 11th budget surplus in the past 11 years and a 21-billion dollar stimulus to prop up a slowing economy. But in a sweeping turnaround, the Conservative government ended its tax-slashing spree of years past, as fears of a global economic slowdown led by the United States are beginning to firm. In October, the government had delivered 60 billion dollars in tax cuts over five years in a mini-budget. The 21-billion dollar stimulus package now heralded by Flaherty is made up mostly of previously announced tax cuts since 2006 that will be felt by Canadians only this year when they fill out their tax forms. Actual new government spending amounts to only 1.5 billion dollars this year, and there are no new tax cuts.