UPDATE 1-Canada headed for structural deficit-budget officer
* 2009-11 budget deficit estimates similar to government's
* Structural deficit seen in 2013-14
* Economy to recover full potential at end 2013 (Recasts, adds details throughout)
OTTAWA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Canada's economy will not fully recover until 2013 and the federal government will carry a structural budgetary deficit of C$19 billion ($17.6 billion) after the crisis, a report by the parliamentary budget officer said on Monday.
The budget officer (PBO), Kevin Page, issued a report revising his fiscal and growth forecasts and bringing them roughly in line with those of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, showing Canada is one of the G7 countries to better withstand the global financial crisis.
But he differed with the government on the politically sensitive issue of whether it will be able to balance its books again within five years, based on economic growth and belt-tightening.
"PBO calculations continue to suggest that the budget is not structurally balanced over the medium term," the report said.
"PBO estimates that the structural balance would deteriorate from essentially a balanced position in 2007-08 to an C$18.9 billion structural deficit in 2013-14."
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's latest fiscal projections in September showed a small deficit of about C$5 billion in 2014-15 but Flaherty later said he hoped to eliminate that deficit "five years from now." Continued...
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