Canadians will not tolerate a deficit in the upcoming federal budget, stated the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce at its quarterly meeting.

The Chamber board is in Ottawa for two days of meetings and discussions on the upcoming federal budget, the Canadian economy and the management of the Canada-U.S. border.

The board says that it believes that Canada now has in place enough fiscal and monetary stimulus to boost economic activity in the coming months without going into deficit. The board agreed that the federal government must address Canada’s security needs, and devote resources to address the critical management problems along the Canada-U.S. border.

“All Canadians have worked very hard in the past several years to move the country away from deficit financing at the federal level,” said Nancy Hughes Anthony, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “We believe that budget deficits can be avoided if we set priorities for the country.”

“The worst thing for business confidence in Canada would be for a budget deficit,” said Robert Briscoe, chair of the Board. “What is critical to stimulating the economy is a demonstration by our federal government that it will maintain fiscal prudence.”