parliament


A "penny-pinching" federal budget was unveiled today in the House of Commons.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented the document this afternoon, which did have cuts to public spending, but they weren't as deep as many feared.

One of the big surprises was the elimination of the penny. Minting of the one-cent coin is to stop by this fall and could save the government $11 million per year.

As many expected, the age of eligibility for old age security will gradually move to 67 from 65, beginning in 2023.

There is more than $5 billion in cuts to annual federal spending by 2014-15, and 4.8 per cent of the federal workforce will be eliminated. Also in the budget $205 million for a one-year extension of a temporary hiring credit for small businesses, and $50 million over two years to provide job skills training for young people.