Senator Housakos: I have a supplementary question for the Leader of the Government.

I don’t really understand why the Trudeau government is so dismissive of the Globe and Mail article, given that the Department of Finance’s policies and operations have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of Canadians, who are already having trouble making ends meet.

We have a Prime Minister who says he isn’t concerned about monetary policy, a government that took more than two years to table a budget, a government that didn’t mention inflation in the Throne Speech and a Department of Finance that has not yet presented the public accounts or the debt management report for the current year.

Senator Gold, here’s another very simple question. Do you dispute these facts, yes or no?

Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Leader of the Opposition): Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate. Senator Gold, as we await the details of the Economic and Fiscal Update to be presented later this afternoon, I would like to draw your attention to yesterday’s The Globe and Mail article about the Finance Department.

According to this report, the Finance Department has low morale, significant staff turnover, a deputy minister unable to control spending or deliver an economic growth plan and a minister who rarely takes departmental briefings, hasn’t met with assistant deputy ministers in months and focuses mainly on political outreach.

Leader, is this accurate? If this is accurate, is the Trudeau government concerned about the chaotic state of affairs in this important Department of Finance.