QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Fiscal Update
November 17, 2020
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Senator Gold, we all recognize and understand that the responsibility for doing the heavy lifting with COVID-19 falls squarely on the shoulders of the provincial governments, but we do know it is the responsibility of the federal government to provide the resources necessary to deal with the pandemic.
Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau, during a first ministers’ conference call, must have had an epiphany. He mentioned in that conference call that federal resources are not infinite, which I was pleased to hear. After five years of spending like a drunken sailor, he’s finally figured out that fiscal responsibility is rather important. I also found it really unusual that, of all people, Prime Minister Trudeau is admonishing and lecturing provincial leaders about fiscal responsibility when his government hasn’t tabled a budget in close to two years.
My question is simple: When will the Prime Minister and his government table a budget so the people of Canada can get a sense or an idea of the state of the economic affairs of the country?
Thank you for your question. The position of the government remains, as I have expressed in this chamber and as other ministers have as well, that the government is committed to continuing to invest in Canadians and Canadian businesses in order to help us get through the pandemic. This is a time for us to be focused on securing our well-being during this very difficult time. The government has undertaken to provide fiscal updates, and when the time is right, they will do so.
The Prime Minister’s references to the provinces reflect the reality of the federal system and the requirement of cooperation between the federal and provincial governments, not only to manage our economic well-being but, more importantly in this moment, to manage our response to the crisis. I think that was the thrust of the Prime Minister’s remarks to which you referred.
The thrust of the question that I put forward is: When are the people of Canada going to see a budget from the government? Two years is unacceptable. We are the only G7 country that hasn’t tabled a budget in close to two years.
Let me understand, government leader. It has been almost two years and we haven’t tabled a budget. We have raced through hundreds of billions of dollars over the last nine months with very little oversight and scrutiny, both from the House of Commons and the Senate. We have seen the coercion and how the government has cajoled us to rush through all the spending.
We also saw an unnecessary prorogation from this government. We all know it had nothing to do with the pandemic. It had to do with them covering up misuse and abuse of funds during this pandemic with the WE scandal. Today we have the Prime Minister out in public, again using coercion, telling the Senate that the latest subsidy program they are putting forward, which hasn’t even arrived in this chamber yet, has to be passed expeditiously. At which point will this Prime Minister allow Parliament to do its work? When will he stop trying to cajole the opposition through the media to rush through billions of dollars of spending? When will he allow Parliament to do its work? I think it’s clear: we either believe in scrutiny and oversight when it comes to fiscal responsibility of taxpayers’ dollars, or we don’t.
Well, there is a lot in your question but most of the assumptions, with all due respect, are not correct. This government, with the support of parties in the other place and with the support of the leaders of the parliamentary groups and Senate, has worked together to make sure that the legislation that is brought before us for the benefit of Canadians is passed in an expeditious and effective manner. Moreover, this government is committed to the principle of proper oversight and transparency. We have circulated with our colleagues a proposal for a special committee on oversight and one that would also include Senator Tannas’ proposal for lessons learned. We are still waiting for feedback from all the groups. That continues to be something to which this government is committed.
