Federal Liberals’ 2017 budget an insult to taxpayers 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  (Mar 23, 2017 - OTTAWA)

With yesterday’s release of the federal budget in Ottawa, the National Citizens Coalition is deeply disappointed with Prime Minister Trudeau’s economic plan for Canada. “This budget completely fails to address the urgent economic challenges facing our country,” says Peter Coleman, President and CEO of the National Citizens Coalition. “Instead of providing relief for hard-working, over-taxed Canadians this government continues to make life more expensive and limit future opportunities.”

New programs outlined in this budget will increase spending by more than $20-billion over the next 7 years, and total spending will top $320-billion this year. This is an increase of approximately 12% since this Liberal government took office in 2015. “This government has already added more than $60-billion of new debt over the past two years, and they no longer expect to eliminate the deficit at all. Are they seeking to develop a permanent, structural deficit?” Continues Coleman. “This is not responsible leadership of the Canadian economy, this is reckless and negligent behaviour.”

This year Canada’s federal government will spend more than $30-billion just to cover the interest on the federal debt. “There is no excuse for continuing to borrow money just to pay for expensive new programs. The Prime Minister promised taxpayers that budget deficits would be capped at $10-billion per year,” adds Coleman. “The federal Liberals have already exceeded these limits by more than 600% and they have absolutely no plan to pay for this spending or create new jobs.” “It is clear that Prime Minister Trudeau is out of touch with Canadian families. Instead of listening to the concerns raised during the budget consultation process, Prime Minister Trudeau has renewed his commitment to expensive new programs including green energy and subsidized day care.” 

The federal debt-to-GDP ratio, a key economic benchmark touted by the Liberals in their 2016 fiscal update, is also set to increase significantly over the coming five years. “There is nothing in this budget that qualifies as a workable, proven economic plan for Canada.”  

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Peter Coleman is available for comment: [email protected] 

416-388-5633