With Trudeau spending like a proverbial drunken sailor, that added $100 billion in debt will take us to THREE QUARTERS OF A TRILLION ($765 billion) in debt within the next five years!

Most perhaps, would disagree the government of Justin
Trudeau has invested in the middle class. Taxed us? Yes!

“The Trudeau government has betrayed Canadians who entrusted it to manage their money responsibly.  They are now on track to add $127 billion in new debt by 2024 – a full $100 billion more than they promised during the last election” ... so said Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Aaron Wudrick today following  

And it seems Wudrick isn’t the only one not pleased by todays budget announcement ... including Aaron Gunn, formerly of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) where he founded and became Executive Director of the Generation Screwed initiative. I wasn’t surprised that he too hit on new debts that Justin Trudeaus federal Liberal government will continue to generate.

This afternoon he commented, “Remember when Trudeau said he’d balance the budget by 2019 and not run deficits of more than $10 billion? How is this colossal failure of leadership not receiving more coverage by the media?”, before continuing.

“Trudeau's now added over $100 billion dollars in NEW DEBT to Canada’s balance sheet even while the economy has been growing… what happens if we enter a recession? He has decimated our fiscal room to maneuver with exactly ZERO to show for it.”

In a January story, the National Post noted that Andrew Scheer’s Conservative MPs were continuing to batter away at Trudeau for running large deficits ... including this year’s deficit which then was expected to be over $18 billion ... with DEBT increasing by nearly $100 billion. Deficits and annual debt however are the much smaller numbers.  With Trudeau spending like a proverbial drunken sailor, that added $100 billion in debt will take Canadians to THREE QUARTERS OF A TRILLION ($765 billion) in debt within the next five years!

Stated Dan Albas, Conservative MP for the riding of Central Okanagan / Similkameen / Nicola:

“This budget is nothing but an expensive remote to change the channel from the SNC Lavalin scandal. Canadian tax payers deserve better from their government. Canadians also deserve transparent and accountable government.”

“More spending, more debt, more government. More cover-up. The most expensive cover-up in history.”

And while the BC Chamber of Commerce indicated they will continue to engage with Federal representatives to prioritize restoring a competitive tax structure, reducing regulatory burdens, and increasing access to skilled labour as critical priorities to maintain prosperity for all British Columbians, they indicated that:

Today’s federal budget fell short of addressing the fundamental issues affecting BC business.  And, while there were some small wins in the budget, it failed to address key issues like global tax competitiveness, reduced business confidence, and a slumping investment in BC businesses.

Val Litwin, CEO of the BC Chamber of Commerce pointed out that;

“Current tax rates are hurting our ability to compete globally. This budget didn’t adequately address productivity or competitiveness in a way that will grow our economy, create meaningful employment, and generate the revenues we need to sustain a healthy prosperous province and country”.

Also, of concern to the BC Chamber of Commerce is the lack of a clear strategy to move the Trans Mountain pipeline forward, given the significant investment made by Canadian taxpayers. 

And it’s true!  A lack of ability to have projects such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline moving forward should be of grave concern to all taxpayers.  Only long stalled resource development projects such as the Trans Mountain Pipeline will be able to stop increased debt, and begin to turn it around – something Justin Trudeaus and his band of carbon taxing eco-bandits have failed to understand.

It’s no wonder another BC Conservative MP, Mel Arnold, stated:
“Most reports have suggested that Canada's economy is becoming sluggish and perhaps headed to more slowing. This budget spends like King Midas with no regard to your future - and those of your children. A bribe - with their allowance.”

Justin Trudeau came in like a rock star in the election of 2015 --- promising one and all sunny days were here, and that Canada was back.  Oh, and that he’d get the budget balanced.

Sunny days are here ... but only for those in foreign countries getting lavished with incredibly insane amounts of government largesse.

Canada is back Trudeau said ... but back to what?  Fawning world countries at the United Nations (UN) as he sends under equipped men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces into combat zones (no they are NOT UN Peace keeping missions – there’s NO PEACE TO KEEP!)

Balanced budget?  That sadly continues to be a sad joke that our children and grand-children will be left having to sort out (remember three quarters of a TRILLION dollars by the end of the next 5 years)

And going back to sunny days – there are certainly not many of those as the confusion and chaos surround SNC-Lavalin continues with the Liberal majority shutting down Jody Wilson-Raybould from speaking.

To that, my own MP Cathy McLeod stated that she was:

“Proud to stand with my Conservative colleagues and our Leader, Andrew Scheer, after today’s $41 billion cover up budget and shut down of the only public investigation into the SNC-Lavalin Scandal”

According to Statistics Canada:

• manufacturing sales declined for the third consecutive month, down 1.3% to $56.4 billion in December on lower sales of petroleum and coal products. Excluding this industry, manufacturing sales declined 0.3%.  Sales fell in 12 of 21 industries, representing 72.7% of manufacturing sales. Manufacturing sales in volume terms were also down, declining 1.2% in December.

• in the petroleum and coal product industry, sales declined for a second consecutive month, falling 10.4% to $5.2 billion, with a decrease in volumes (-5.2%) accounting for about half the decline.

•  and food manufacturing sales declined 2.3% to $8.6 billion in December, following two consecutive monthly increases. The decrease in December mainly reflected lower sales in the meat manufacturing, dairy manufacturing, and grain and oilseed manufacturing industries.

It must be said however that finally in January things were slowly beginning to turn around --- but again only after MONTHS of declines. Something Finance Minister Bill Morneau tried to make look a lot better than what statistics had been showing.

Regardless, this is what he had to say in January:

"Canada’s economy is strong and growing—proof that our plan to invest in Canadians is working. But it’s also clear that there is more work to be done. The anxieties felt by Canadians are real”

“In Budget 2019 we’ll lay out the next steps in our plan to address those concerns and build a stronger country, one where every person has a real and fair chance to succeed."

A stronger country however still comes down to ensuring government does not spend more than it can possibly take in from taxes and fees.  And not paying attention to that is a very real reason why ... the anxieties felt by Canadians are real.

As the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Aaron Wudrick noted .... government deficits are a result of higher spending, not lower revenues.  Sadly, in today’s budget there were no next steps in our plan to address those concerns and build a stronger country

“Even with increased spending, higher than expected revenues could have meant a smaller deficit or even a balanced budget, but instead the government has chosen to simply spend every unexpected dollar – and then some” said Wudrick.

In January, again quoting Morneau he stated that, “Since 2015, the Government’s plan has delivered real results for Canadians and their families”.

The only real results the Trudeau government has delivered since 2015, have been less take-home pay, tens of thousands of job losses, and resource development that’s been shelved or worse, cancelled completely.

That’s not much of a record to be proud of.  Which is why this evening I’ll close this commentary with the words of Aaron Gunn:
“His (Justin Trudeau’s) fiscal and economic record is a mirror image to that of his father’s (Pierre Elliott Trudeau). Broken promises, fiscal recklessness and the marginalization of Western Canada. It will take years to undo the damage.”