NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he has no immediate plans to tinker with his budget, unveiled in late January, even though the economy has shed tens of thousands more jobs than the fiscal plan had envisioned, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Flaherty's budget, unveiled on Jan. 27, aimed to create or maintain about 190,000 jobs within the current fiscal year, which began April 1.
The Canadian economy shed 273,000 jobs in the first quarter ending March 31.
'We're only in April. We anticipated continuing slowdown in the first quarter of this year. We have a large stimulus package, which is just starting to hit the economy,' Flaherty said in an interview with the National Post.
'So what I say to Canadians is, let's get this implemented. Let's get this working, and then let's see where we are then.'
The Conservative government unveiled a two-year C$40 billion stimulus package in January to help pull the economy out of recession, laying out plans for a budget deficit for the first time after 11 straight years of surplus.
(Reporting by Frank McGurty; Editing by Xavier Briand) Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/FLAHERTY (Reuters Ottawa Budget Newsroom, 613 232 7159) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Flaherty's budget, unveiled on Jan. 27, aimed to create or maintain about 190,000 jobs within the current fiscal year, which began April 1.
The Canadian economy shed 273,000 jobs in the first quarter ending March 31.
'We're only in April. We anticipated continuing slowdown in the first quarter of this year. We have a large stimulus package, which is just starting to hit the economy,' Flaherty said in an interview with the National Post.
'So what I say to Canadians is, let's get this implemented. Let's get this working, and then let's see where we are then.'
The Conservative government unveiled a two-year C$40 billion stimulus package in January to help pull the economy out of recession, laying out plans for a budget deficit for the first time after 11 straight years of surplus.
(Reporting by Frank McGurty; Editing by Xavier Briand) Keywords: CANADA BUDGET/FLAHERTY (Reuters Ottawa Budget Newsroom, 613 232 7159) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.