(OTTAWA) Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre promises to speak continuously in the House of Commons beginning Wednesday night to halt passage of Bill C-47 implementing the federal budget. This will start the parliamentary guerrilla war promised by his party, unless the Trudeau government presents a plan to return to a balanced budget.
Posted at 12:55 p.m.
According to the Conservative leader, the latest federal budget is bad for the economy and Canadian families, who are struggling to make ends meet because it fuels inflation due to the high spending it contains.
“Today I’m going to stand up in the House of Commons for the budget debate and I’ll just keep talking and talking and talking to prevent this budget from being passed,” announced the Conservative leader during a speech before his deputies, which was open to the media.
“If the Prime Minister wants me to allow his budget to be adopted, he can always announce himself the year in which we will have a balanced budget. So if he wants me to stop freezing his budget, he needs to start balancing the budget. It’s easy. That’s common sense,” he added in the same breath.
Mr Poilievre announced his intentions less than two hours after the Bank of Canada ordered another quarter-point hike in interest rates to curb inflation, which stood at 4.4% in April. In the space of a year, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates nine times from 0.25% to 4.75%.
In this regard, the Conservative leader predicted that Canada was on the brink of a financial crisis as interest rates in the country had risen significantly and many Canadians had very high mortgage debt.
Poilievre, who has promised to sack Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem if he takes office in the next election, acknowledged that it is the Bank of Canada’s job to set the interest rate. However, he argued that the Trudeau administration’s runaway spending in recent years was a direct cause of inflation.
“The bank has to account for the inflation that the government is causing and it’s clear that the fact, dear Justin, that you’re printing so much money to borrow and increase our national debt – which you’ve already doubled by… have added more.” than all the other prime ministers combined – it drives up prices. “Government costs increase the cost of living,” he argued.
Interest rates worry Freeland
Speaking to reporters minutes earlier, Treasury Secretary Chrystia Freeland endorsed the Bank of Canada’s decision – noting that the Bank of Canada conducts its monetary policy independently of the federal government.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Chrystia Freeland
She acknowledged that this decision will cause financial concerns for many Canadian families. However, she said the strength of the job market and the fall in inflation over the past 12 months show the Canadian economy is resilient and that the Trudeau government’s fiscal policies are paying off.
However, she expressed concern about the impact of this ninth interest rate hike on the ability of Canadian families to pay.
“This is an issue that worries me greatly,” Minister Freeland said.
“There are always two issues that present real challenges to Canadians. On the one hand there is inflation. On the other hand, there are high interest rates. I have absolute confidence and Canadians need to have confidence that inflation is coming down and that we will get to stable and normal levels of inflation,” she said.
It confirmed the Bank of Canada’s forecast that the inflation rate should be around 3% by the end of the summer.
“High interest rates are really affecting Canadians and Canadian families. We must understand that we are nearing the end of this difficult time. With every month that goes by, we get closer to the end.
She argued that the government must come to the aid of the most vulnerable. And measures such as the food discount are aimed at providing targeted financial support to families in need.
“It’s important and the right thing to do. But on the other hand, we also need to be fiscally responsible in order not to fan the flames of inflation, and we are doing that. »