Financial advisor professional association Advocis sees the federal government’s raising of RRSP limits as a small step forward. Finance Minister John Manley announced the increases in his 2003 Federal Budget address Tuesday.

“We would have liked to have seen more and we would have liked to have seen it all now,” said Steve Howard, president and CEO of Advocis, in a news release.

The RRSP limit will be increased to $14,500 for 2003, $15,500 for 2004, $16,500 for 2005, and $18,000 for 2006.

“We are pleased to see the restoration of the contingency reserve and the commitment to use it to pay down the national debt, if not otherwise needed. However, debt reduction is still not a line item in the budget and we would have preferred to have seen 25%, at a minimum, of the surplus applied directly to reducing the debt,” said Howard.

Advocis said it was delighted to see the increase in the small business deduction. “This will help the clients of our members and our members themselves, most of whom are small business people,” said Howard.