QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Government Spending
June 19, 2024
Senator Gold, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr. Macklem, said a few days ago that the $61 billion of new spending by the Trudeau government is not helpful in bringing down inflation and interest rates.
When will this government give up on its terrible nine-year experiment, which has yielded nothing but a historic rise in the cost of living, with doubled rents and mortgages and 1 million more Canadians in food bank lines this year compared to last year?
I know you’re going to say there are forces beyond our control, international forces, the dog ate my homework and all the rest of that because the Trudeau government is never responsible for anything.
The opposition, in a constructive manner, has been giving you a path forward after nine years to try something different. Cut taxes. Give Canadians a break. Reinject the hard work that Canadians have put into this economy for them to help grow the economy, not from the heart out but from their own —
The Government of Canada respects the work of the Bank of Canada and its efforts — which were significant — to bring down the level of inflation, and the work it continues to do to find the right balance between controlling inflation and allowing our economy to continue to grow.
Again, Senator Housakos, notwithstanding your repetition of these points, they’re not correct in fact. They are simply not correct.
The policy options that you have provided so generously to the government are tired policies that have proved ineffective and acknowledged by even their proponents, whether in the Conservative Party of Canada or south of this border.
This government has invested in Canadians during the pandemic and will continue to invest in the creation of a robust and sustainable economy for generations to come.
Senator Gold, the only thing Canadians are tired of are nine years of the tax-and-spend Liberal government of Justin Trudeau.
The facts now remain that, thanks to the spending by this government like drunken sailors, it’s costing Canadians families an extra $3,687 to pay for Justin Trudeau’s interest alone on the debt he has accumulated in this country. Fifty-four billion dollars is going in interest to pay the debt. Six million Canadians don’t have a doctor.
When will you stop the tax-and-spend policies and put a cap on spending?
Thank you for your question.
The government’s budget and legislation implementing it, which we will be debating shortly, is the response of the government in this regard — a measured, responsible approach that balances the need to continue to invest, whether in defence or other areas, and in maintaining a strong economy for the future.
