More reviews are in

James Travers:

Harper is contradicting Conservative values. Suddenly, and for partisan advantage, he is willing to dump a debt load on coming generations, starting with a $34 billion deficit in the fiscal year beginning April 1, followed by another $30 billion the year after.

What that buys beyond the government's widely anticipated survival remains vague. Harper is counting on taxpayers and, should it come to an election, voters to confuse spending with a solution. Even after all the budget leaks, it remains only a smiley-face assumption that Canadians will be better off, more domestically productive and internationally competitive, when the worst still to come is finally over.