The 2013 federal Budget was delivered ironically the same day as the Parliamentary Budget Officer was in court seeking more information about the impact of the government's $5.2 billion in spending cuts announced last year. The lack of budgetary transparency and accountability has become a hallmark of the Conservative government. Anyone expecting this year's budget would break with that record will be deeply disappointed. Budget 2013 is a smoke and mirrors budget, a financial sleight of hand that recycles old programs into "new" ones, adding money on the one hand while taking away from the other. For post-secondary education and research, Budget 2013 is another disappointment. While there were no cuts to cash transfers to the provinces in support of education, the planned 3 per cent increase remains far too little to offset inflation and enrolment increases. Given the cuts to post-secondary education at the provincial level, the federal government should have done more. Most of the provinces have far less fiscal room available to adequately fund health care, social services and post-secondary education. [For the 2012 edition of this report, see ED542962.]