Lessons Learned from...Public Debt

I was recently asked to research estimated government debt figures for Canada. The size of our collective debt is astounding. For those of us who take pride in keeping personal debt under control, it's disheartening to realize that, even with our efforts, we're still in the red.

It's sobering to understand that we spend (waste?) money when we do things like ignore recycling bylaws, go to the doctor when we're not sick, take more "free" government services than we need and send things to the landfill that can be reused. Everything has a cost, even if it doesn't hit our personal bottom line directly.

So here's one more new year's resolution: in 2011, let's all think about the true cost of our actions. This may help us know when we've had enough.

Federal government: $517.5
Source: http://www.budget.gc.ca/2010/pdf/budget-planbudgetaire-eng.pdf

BC: $41,885 million
Source: http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/OCG/pa/09_10/PA_2010_ProvDebt.pdf

Alberta: $1.092 billion
Source: http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/annual_repts/govt/ganrep10/confinst.pdf

Saskatchewan: $4,145.3 million
Source: http://www.finance.gov.sk.ca/default.aspx?DN=1ef17811-55c7-4f06-87e7-67fb4cccb95b

Manitoba: $13,995 million
Source: http://gov.mb.ca/finance/budget10/papers/budget.pdf

Ontario: $212.4 billion
Source: http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2010/ch4.html#c4_debtComposition

Quebec: $129 billion
Source: http://www.conferenceboard.ca/topics/economics/budgets/quebec_2010_budget_EN.aspx

Nova Scotia: $13.01 billion
Source: http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/en/home/investorrelations/outstandingdebt/default.aspx

New Brunswick: $8.3 billion
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/new-brunswicks-debt-casts-tall-shadow-over-heated-provincial-contest/article1686832/

PEI: 1.7 billion
Source: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Politics/20101226/public-debt-in-maritimes-101226/

Newfoundland: $ 8,457 million
Source: http://www.td.com/economics/budgets/nl10.pdf

Vancouver: $410,630,000
Source: http://vancouver.ca/fs/budgetServices/pdf/09AnuualReport.pdf

Calgary: $2,901.3 million
Source: http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/finance/budget/2009_2011/pdf/08b_capital_analysis.pdf

Toronto: $ 3,829,795,000
Source: http://www.toronto.ca/finance/pdf/2009fr.pdf page 50

Montreal: $4,217 million
Source: http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/service_fin_en/media/documents/budget-2010-10-global-dette-sit-fin-a.pdf

Halifax: $279 million
Source : http://www.halifax.ca/budget/documents/2010-11OPERATINGBOOKFINAL.pdf

Lessons Learned from...New Year's Resolutions

In Eat, Pray, Love, Liz Gilbert claims that each of us has one word that effectively sums up our personality and existence. I think mine is "resolve". I love to solve and re-solve plans, constantly changing my path. I am also a very resolved person and no other time of year can this manifest itself more obviously than New Year's.

In preparation for my resolutions, I have joined the site 43things.com, where you can post both what you want to accomplish in your life (long term) and things you hope to do in the upcoming year (short term). I've made about a dozen entries in both categories and hope to chart my progress both in mind and online.

This year, I'm trying to stay away from drastic measures. I know we're supposed to write SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely), but this year I think of my resolutions more as intentions. For me, drastic measures send the signal that what I am doing right now is decidedly wrong. I resolve and change my path so often, but I hope my path is not drastically wrong. I trust that I'm primarily headed in the right direction. That doesn't mean that I don't need to remind myself of my intentions, because I do. And that's just I'm setting out to to in 2011.