It’s time for Ottawa politicians to take deficits seriously again
There’s finally some good news for taxpayers: Instead of balancing the budget in 2070, the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s numbers now show Canadians can look forward to a balanced budget in only … wait for it … 20 years. Last year the Canadians Taxpayers Federation used PBO data to show the feds wouldn’t balance the budget…
Caving on a wealth tax to appease the NDP would be a huge mistake
As the federal budget approaches, taxpayers are holding on to their wallets a little tighter. Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared less than two years ago that “the last thing Canadians need is to see a rise in taxes,” the government will likely have to win the support of the NDP to get a…
Commitment to strengthening “labour protection” for workers in the gig economy will discourage hiring
Most of the headlines from the Liberal budget were about the big dollar expenditures: tens of billions in new spending on child care, corporate welfare handouts (even excluding pandemic-related supports), student debt relief, climate change programs, Indigenous services, and much more. All this spending will reduce economic growth by shifting economic control from the private…
Spend, spend, spend – that’s the strategy. And green is the colour of choice. The environment is front, left and centre in the latest federal budget. Everybody is getting something to get more environmentally focused – well, almost everybody. While taxpayers won’t get a break any time soon, the federal government’s footprint in our economy…
Canadian politicians insist that massive government spending is needed to bring the economy back to life. But they’re dead wrong
Canadian politicians at every level continue to insist that massive government spending is needed to bring the Canadian economy back to life. But they’re dead wrong. Politicians can help our economy. But not with more wasteful spending. Instead, they should let us keep more of our own money. Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has argued…
But don’t bet on seeing a balanced budget, let alone one in surplus
For the first time in more than two years, the federal government is bringing down a budget today (April 19). So let’s look at what the budget should do to best serve Canada, its people and our economy. The first function of any budget is to compare expected income and expenditures. In a balanced budget,…
We need to increase personal income, improve living standards and pay down the mountain of debt
The federal government is preparing a budget to be unleashed on the public and the financial markets sometime in March. We can be terrified at the prospect of more huge debt taken on by our servants on Parliament Hill. Or we can hope they may take a more creative, constructive and growth-generating approach. Here are…
The year’s hardships, and concern for what’s next in 2021, can refocus our vision and practices at the personal and social levels
As we enter the final quarter of this year, many Canadians are likely more than ready to say goodbye and good riddance to 2020, the year of the pandemic. But what if, in some ways at least, 2021 could actually be even more difficult? Consider this: Besides killing nearly 10,000 Canadians and more than one…
The federal government can’t continue to ignore the warning signs of a slowing economy. It should limit discretionary spending now
By Tegan Hill and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute The recently-released Economic and Fiscal Update demonstrates the federal government’s proclivity for marked increases in deficit-financed spending despite warning signs of a slowing economy. New borrowing and a larger deficit increase the risk to federal finances should a recession occur. The federal update pegs the deficit…
Canada’s debt has grown faster than the economy. That dangerous pattern casts a shadow over the nation’s long-term financial health
By Alex Whalen and Jake Fuss The Fraser Institute Just before the holidays, the federal government released its fall economic update. It revealed that Canada’s federal debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio increased in 2019, meaning Canada’s debt has grown faster than the economy. This is particularly important because the government chose the debt-to-GDP ratio to guide federal fiscal…