(Ottawa) Liberal activists’ decision to overturn a resolution urging their party to accept a proposal to return to a balanced budget at its next electoral platform demonstrates the “left, far left” turn of Justin’s troops, Trudeau believes the conservative lieutenant for Quebec, Pierre Paul-Hus.
Posted 5:35pm Updated 5:35pm
Michel Saba The Canadian Press
“What is certain is that with the alliance with the New Democrats and now with the way the money is being spent with no regard for taxpayers, it is clearly a very left turn on the part of the Liberal Party of Canada,” said Pierre Poilievres Québec Lieutenant in an interview with The Canadian Press on the sidelines of the Liberal Party Convention.
He finds the signal from the activists “very worrying,” “no, a balanced budget is not important, we’ll continue like this”. It is nothing more and nothing less than a break with “the way the Liberal Party has operated for the last 100 years”.
The resolution, coming from the party’s Quebec wing, was defeated in a show of hands with 76 delegates in favor and 97 against.
The preamble argued that public debt had risen from 30% of GDP in 2015-2016 – when the Liberals came to power – to almost 50% in 2021-2022, “worrying many Canadians”.
He also mentions that the existence of a program to reduce debt and return to balanced budgets will “undoubtedly be of significant importance” in voters’ minds when choosing a party to rule the country.
On Friday, Prime Minister Trudeau unveiled his flag by refusing to commit to adopting such a plan despite believing “fiscal responsibility” is “essential”. He insisted to reporters that Canada has the lowest deficit in the G7, the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7 and is one of the top three countries in the world with a credit rating of AAA.
“Flexibility” for “Investments”
After the vote, the Liberals explained that activists wanted to offer the government “a little flexibility” and that “fiscal discipline is part of the DNA of the Liberal Party”.
Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, also called for a distinction between “spending and investment,” pointing to Volkswagen’s new battery plant, for which Ottawa has given up to 13 billion in subsidies, but which “will pay dividends.” pay for generations”.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, THE CANADIAN PRESS
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister for Innovation, Science and Industry
The argument is far from convincing for Mr. Paul-Hus. “When Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015, he played in that space by saying, ‘Listen, I’m going to run a small deficit of 10 billion in year one, invest heavily in our infrastructure in year two.’ You look at that, you say, “No, that can make sense. But what we ended up seeing was an additional deficit of 100 billion in four years with little investment in infrastructure.”
And while he acknowledges the federal government had to come to the rescue of the population during the pandemic, Mr Paul-Hus believes there has been a “loss of control” over public finances.
In its latest budget, presented last March, the Trudeau government abandoned its forecast of a return to balanced budgets in five years. For fiscal year 2023-2024, the federal government projected a deficit of $40.1 billion.
However, the budget document announced that Ottawa would allocate nearly $80 billion by 2034-2035 to support the energy transition through five tax credits, a replica of Joe Biden’s American government plan. He also said establishing a dental care plan – a key commitment to the New Democratic Party (NDP) – would cost $13 billion over five years and $4.4 billion annually thereafter.
Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien has been one of the headlines at the liberal convention in recent days. The man who ruled the country from 1993 to 2003 after winning three majority mandates addressed the issue of public finances in a speech that earned him thunderous applause. “In Canada’s finances in 60 years there have only been 10 budget surpluses and, Mr. Poilievre, they have always been (under)liberal governments,” he said.
Liberal delegates passed a total of 24 resolutions that became official party policy for the next eight years. These include requiring employers under federal jurisdiction to offer four weeks of paid vacation upon hiring and introducing a guaranteed basic income.