Like Christmas morning, many people across the province will be waking up today hoping for tonnes of new loot.
But today the jolly gift-giver will be federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and his sack will be the federal budget.
It’s well-known the government will be throwing around a lot of infrastructure money to try to boost the economy through the economic downturn.
Many people will be waiting to see exactly where that money goes.
“We’d like to see most of the spending have a benefit both to the environment and the economy,” said the Ecology Action Centre’s Mark Butler.
“We don’t want to just see ‘here’s a little bit for you guys,’ we want the focus on a green stimulus.”
Butler said the government should shy away from projects like building new roads.
Premier Rodney MacDonald echoed support for green stimulus, but said some new projects, like twinning highways, need to be done.
MacDonald also listed education, the Atlantic Gateway and more employment insurance money as priorities.
“I want to see dollars that can get to the province as quickly as possible without a lot of red tape.
“And I want to see flexibility,” said MacDonald.
Mayor Peter Kelly also said he had concerns about money getting here as fast as possible.
He hopes stimulus is distributed as gas tax funds currently are, which Kelly says is the “quickest hit” for funding.
He said other systems, such as the Building Canada Fund, take far longer for approval.
