Red Deer-Mountainview MP Earl Dreeshen says the Liberal government’s fall economic statement missed the mark when it comes to helping Canadians struggling with inflation.
On Thursday, the federal government unveiled a 92-page mini-budget setting out Canada’s fiscal situation that forecasts a budget surplus of $4.5 billion during the 2027-28 fiscal year, although the more pessimistic scenario says that year will bring a deficit of $8.3 billion.
“The uncontrolled spending has added so much to our debt and they’re just pressing ahead and it’s just going to make life more expensive. We’ve been calling on the prime minister to commit to not adding any more taxes but as you go through the list, you see that certainly is what’s going to happen,” Dreeshen said.
He said the Liberals talk about how Canada is impacted by all the problems elsewhere in the world.
“We’re going to be in the same shape as some of those countries all around the world if we can’t get control of some of our spending. Anything that they are speaking about doing is all on borrowed money.”
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For the current fiscal year, the mid-year budget update is forecasting a $36.4 billion deficit, which is about $16 billion lower than anticipated in the spring budget thanks to high inflation and a strong economic recovery boosting government revenue.
Dreeshen said he doesn’t expect the Liberals to reign in the deficit.
“Part of the reason they are able to get more dollars is because of the high taxation that they have and that our natural resource prices are high.”
He said on one hand, they are trying to hamper advancements in the natural resource sector, and on the other hand, they are hoping to fill the coffers “to help them look somewhat less financially irresponsible.”
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The economic update also focused on matching clean energy investments and tax incentives made recently in the United States through its Inflation Reduction Act.
Dreeshen said he’s all for looking at different options, but nobody’s paying attention to the environmental concerns associated with some of these new renewable resource technologies.
— with files from The Canadian Press