Finance Minister Jim Flaherty puts on his annual pre-budget shoes at the Roots Leather Factory in Toronto on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. (Nathan Denette/CP)
TORONTO – Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Thursday’s budget will include “specific measures” to bolster the country’s hard-hit manufacturing sector.
Flaherty says the measures will be one of the “major points” in the Conservative government’s fiscal plan.
The minister made the comments while trying on a new pair of shoes, an annual pre-budget tradition.
This year’s new footwear — a pair of black Oxfords inscribed with the words “Action Plan,” after the Tories’ stimulus program — was purchased at a Roots factory in Toronto.
The budget will be read by the minister from Parliament at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday.
