Critics question sustainability of spending in federal budget
Local Members of Parliament and advocacy groups are questioning the sustainability of the spending levels in the federal budget.
The budget was unveiled last week.
“Overall, we’re seeing huge amounts of spending for the federal government that keeps saying that they’re being fiscally responsible without any evidence of that,” Gage Haubrich, Prairie Director with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said. “We’re seeing a $40 billion deficit this year. Since Trudeau took charge, the national debt has been doubled. That means that way more money can be spent on those interest charges—$54 billion this year—that’s almost like three budgets of Saskatchewan.”
“When you’re the government, you’re dealing with other people’s money,” he continued. “It’s pretty easy to open up a checkbook that’s not yours and keep spending.”
Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire noted that some prominent former Liberal finance ministers and even a former governor of the Bank of Canada have serious questions about the level of spending in Budget 2024.
“Even David Dodge, the former governor of the Bank of Canada says to be the worst budget since 1982, that was before it came down, and he’s confirmed that now. So has John Manley, the former Liberal finance minister and even Bill Morneau, came out today and said that this was inflationary spending,” Maguire said.
“These extra taxes are going to be paid by families and it’s going to amount up to about $2,400 a year for every family in Canada.”
Souris-Moose Mountain MP Dr. Robert Kitchen would also like to see a spending cap with a ‘dollar for dollar’ rule—for every dollar of new spending the government would have to save the same amount elsewhere. He also proposed a solution for increased housing linked to large centres receiving federal dollars.
“We talked about building homes not bureaucracies by having cities permit 15 per cent more homebuilding every year as a condition to receiving the federal infrastructure money,” Kitchen said.
The federal budget also included a tax increase on capital gains for all companies and for individuals receiving more than $250,000 in capital gains, increasing the inclusion rate to 66 per cent from 50 per cent.
“The Chamber is very concerned that this could have a significant and negative impact on investment attraction to the province.” said Prabha Ramaswamy, CEO, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce. “Rather than imposing additional tax burdens on corporations, the Chamber supports tax policies that incentivize investment, entrepreneurship, and risk-taking. These elements are vital components of a vibrant and resilient economy.”
The CFIB echoed those sentiments, noting the budget will create “winners and losers aoungst SMEs.”
“These changes have the potential to demotivate Canadians from getting into business in the first place or working hard to grow a small business to a medium-sized business,” said Brianna Solberg, CFIB Director, Legislative Affairs, Prairies and Northern Canada, adding the CFIB would be pushing back against capital gains increases for business. “It also seems bizarre that government would single out some sectors of Canada’s SME community for higher taxes, including many of those hardest hit by pandemic restrictions like restaurants and arts and recreation firms.”
Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator
