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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 175

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 175 - Mar/29/23
Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • Mar/29/23 2:25:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pipe dream. A year ago, the finance minister said, “We are absolutely determined that our debt-to-GDP ratio must continue to decline.” It is going up. She also said, “Our [pandemic] deficits must continue to be reduced.” They are going up. She went on to say, “The [extraordinary] debt[s] we incurred...must...be paid down.” They are not only not being paid down, but they are going up. She said as well that the budget would be balanced in 2027. Now the Liberals admit that the budget will never balance itself. Given these four falsehoods, how can Canadians believe anything the minister or the Prime Minister says about money?
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Context: House Hansard - 175 - Mar/29/23
Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Mar/29/23 2:26:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are going to take no lessons from a Leader of the Opposition who tells Canadians to hedge on inflation by putting money into crypto. Let us look at fiscal responsibility. Canada will have the lowest deficit and the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7. The deficit is projected to decline every year. Public debt charges, as a share of the economy, will remain historically low. We have the strongest economic growth in the G7, with 830,000 jobs created since the beginning of the pandemic, and a record 85.7% participation of Canadian women in the labour force. The future is bright for Canada, and this budget delivers that future.
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Context: House Hansard - 175 - Mar/29/23
Hon. Randy Boissonnault (Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Lib.)
  • Mar/29/23 2:59:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite can look at the budget, right in the lines, and see very clearly that the deficit would continue to go down every single year for the next five years. In fact, this year's budget is lower than last year's budget, and all of this is happening amid great economic headwinds around the globe. Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7. It has the lowest debt in the G7 and the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in all of the G7. Those are the facts, and that is on our watch.
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Context: House Hansard - 175 - Mar/29/23
Mr. Jean-Denis Garon
  • Mar/29/23 5:34:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, when we look at the debt and the deficit, we have to look at it in proportion to the ability to pay. Any banker who is asked for a $2,000 or $3,000 loan does not treat someone with an annual income of $10,000 the same as someone with an income of $50,000 or $100,000. The same applies to people with assets and people with no assets. The first thing to look at is the debt-to-GDP ratio. The Conservatives go from dollars, which they call nominal, when it suits them, to the ratio when that suits them. A little consistency would be nice. Beyond that, public finances have to be looked at as a whole. It is important to be concerned about both the deficit and the federal debt, but if the provinces are going broke in the meantime and they have to borrow money, or choose between borrowing money and caring for their residents, that has to be taken into account.
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