The Investment Dealers Association of Canada says the federal 2005 budget “as a relatively balanced document which introduces some important measures to spur investment and make the Canadian economy more productive.”

“The IDA applauds the government’s commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Canada’s capital markets,” said Joe Oliver, IDA president and CEO, in a release. “We support the federal initiative to reach out to provinces and territories to achieve significant regulatory reform by year-end.”

The IDA says the budget listened help Canadians who must save for their own retirement by increasing the RRSP limit to $22,000 by 2010 and by providing for greater investment flexibility by removing the foreign property rule.

It notes the government made efforts to improve the productivity of Canadian enterprises by lowering corporate tax rates another two percentage points by 2010, by increasing capital consumption allowances, and by removing the corporate capital surtax to promote capital formation in the country.