Canada's finance minister Bill Morneau comments (via Reuters):
- Canadaian government expects tax hike on rich to bring in c$2.01 bln/yr in 2016-17; Liberal party election platform had booked c$2.80 bln
- Expects middle-class tax cut to cost c$3.44 bln/yr in 2016-17; Liberal platform had booked c$2.87 bln
- Says facing level of economic growth less than expected during the campaign; intend to keep commitment to balance budget during mandate
- Asked whether will stick to promise to keep budget deficit under C$10 billion a year, does not give direct answer
- Citing lower than expected oil price, says economy will be challenged; says will continue to move forward with investments
- Asked whether government is considering more stimulus than planned, says will need to be prudent with investments
- Says paying very close attention to price of oil; says other parts of the economy doing well, cites exports
USD/CAD is a few points lower, but not a lot of movement.
