François-Philippe Champagne

“Mr. Speaker, this budget would be better titled “masters of increasing debt and interest payments”. The budget fails to establish a credible fiscal anchor to reduce the debt and balance the budget. The national debt on the government’s own plans is increasing over the next five-year horizon, interest costs are starting to take off, and there is no plan to balance the budget. All this borrowing is making life more unaffordable for individuals, families and companies because it is increasing the cost of capital. We have all seen the five- and 10-year bond yields over the last several years increase, increasing the costs of mortgages, car loans and lines of credit. It is also reducing the flexibility of the federal government to deal with a major crisis that the Prime Minister’s own national security strategy says is coming, including a potential war. Finally, all this borrowing is not showing up in the numbers. Business capital formation has declined in five of the last six quarters, unemployment remains a full per cent above pre-pandemic highs, and GDP is flatlining, estimated to be less than 1% this year. Would the minister comment?”