QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Federal Deficit
May 30, 2024
Government Representative, before the budget was tabled, the Parliamentary Budget Officer was projecting a deficit of $47 billion. When the budget was tabled a month ago, there was a big announcement: The deficit wasn’t $47 billion, but rather $39.8 billion. The government patted itself on the back, but we learned a month later in Supplementary Estimates (A) about some new spending that had not been provided for, specifically $7.8 billion for settlements under the Indigenous Affairs portfolio and $3 billion in interest due to rising interest rates. Curiously, this exceeds the PBO’s figure of $47 billion. Is this government incompetent, or is it cooking the books?
Thank you for the question. The answer is neither, because circumstances change. The responsible, prudent and transparent thing for the government to do is to ensure that, when the numbers change, the new data is disclosed to Canadians.
We have a government that can’t even predict a rise in interest rates, when all Canadians know that interest rates are going up and that this represents a difference of $3 billion in just one month. That is the amount requested in Supplementary Estimates (A). This shows incompetence and a loss of control.
I didn’t hear a question there, so I don’t need to respond to that comment.
You don’t think so?
No.
