OTTAWA - Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he is willing to incorporate some opposition suggestions in the coming budget to avoid an election -- to a point.
The cutoff point is any new big-ticket spending, or a reversal of corporate tax cuts that went into effect on Jan. 1 that both the Liberals and NDP want rolled back.
Still, Flaherty said he is open to new spending in the budget, as long as it is modest.
"We're not going to undo what Parliament has already done with respect to business tax rates," he said at a news conference Monday.
"We could have some modest new spending," he added. "But to stay on fiscal track to get to balanced budget we can't have new big-spending programs."
By the government's estimates, rolling back the Jan. 1 rate cut on corporate taxes from 18 to 16.5 per cent will cost Ottawa about $1.6 billion in revenue, which the opposition says could be better deployed on other priorities.
The government has also scheduled a similar 1.5-point reduction for next January.
The Liberals, in particular, have made the cut the central issue on whether they are prepared to support the budget or possibly trigger an election this spring.
Flaherty said he is prepared to address some opposition requests, including help for the forestry sector, retraining for older workers, work-sharing and employment insurance benefits.
Such new spending could be accommodated by reallocating resources from other programs, or even shutting down some government programs. He was not specific.
With a budget deficit estimated at $45 billion this year -- coming off a record $55.6 billion shortfall in 2009-10 -- Flaherty said his priority must be balancing the government's books on schedule, in five years.
For instance, reintroducing the popular home renovation tax credit, which cost Ottawa an estimated $3 billion, is too expensive, the finance minister said.
He added the stimulus phase of the Economic Action Plan must end as scheduled at the end of March.
"We (world governments) all agreed that we would stimulate our economies," during the recession, he said.
"We were able to do that in Canada with the co-operation of the provinces and territories, but this spending must be replaced by private-sector spending as we go forward. Otherwise, we will create a long-term structural deficit."
In answer to a question, Flaherty suggested passing a "balanced-budget" bill that would commit government to eliminating the deficit would be "useful."
He said Canadians should not expect the budget to come quickly after Parliament resumes Jan. 31, saying budget day "is not very soon."
