Harper delivers economic report Monday

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will deliver his government's latest economic update in Saint John on Monday.

The Conservatives' minority government was able to win approval for its economic stimulus plan in the House of Commons last spring by promising to deliver a series of economic report cards.

The latest update is sure to be watched closely since the government is dealing with the largest budget deficit in Canadian history.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the deficit this year will be more than $5 billion higher than originally thought, moving up to a projected $55.9 billion from $50.2 billion.

Parliament returns to work on Monday with the Liberals threatening a no-confidence vote and the NDP holding the balance of power.

During his speech in Saint John, Harper is expected to talk about the state of the economy and perhaps infrastructure projects — where money is being spent and how many projects are underway. The Liberals have accused the government of spending only 12 per cent of the $4 billion set aside for immediate job-creating infrastructure projects.

Canadians may also hear more news about measures such as the home renovation tax credit, which has now passed because of a ways-and-means motion that was voted on a couple weeks ago.

Gerard Kennedy, the Liberal's infrastructure critic, said he wants Harper to provide evidence, not just words, that the government is investing in getting the unemployed back to work.

"We have no real growth taking place in terms of jobs, yet we provided enough funding in the [January] budget for something in the order of 120,000 jobs. We're down 178,000 jobs since the budget came out," he said.