First majority Conservative budget kills the penny, raises OAS eligibility age to 67 and slashes $5.2 billion in spending

The first budget for the majority Conservative budget promised to do away with the penny, raise the eligibility age for Old Age Security from 65 to 67 and slash $5.2 billion in spending, including 12,000 public service jobs.

The Royal Canadian mint will stop producing the penny by the fall under the proposed budget. Stores will have to round to the nearest five cents for cash purchases.

There were few details of how exactly the government plans to slash its $245-billion in spending and balance the budgets by the promised 2015-2016.

But among the proposed changes are symbolic cuts such as selling $80 million worth of overseas residences, asking foreign diplomats to move into “more modest quarters,” making the Governor-General to pay income tax, scrapping the Katimavik program that promoted cultural exchanges among young people and selling 160 vehicles owned by Environment Canada and Natural Resources.

Click here for all the latest news and insight on the 2012 federal budget