CORNWALL, Ontario – Stormont, Dundas, South Glengarry Conservative MP Eric Duncan released a statement highly critical of the Federal Liberal Government’s latest budget, their first national budget in two years.
“I am very concerned about the unsustainable spending levels proposed by the government. We are now over $1 trillion in debt, including adding another $155 billion this year alone. For context, every single woman, man and child in Canada now owes $33,000 in debt- and it is expected to grow even more in the forecasts provided in the budget,” reads a statement from MP Duncan’s office.
However, the Liberal budget document shows the current budget deficit at $354 billion for the 2020-2021 budget year, with their forecasts projecting that the deficit will fall to $30.7 billion by 2025-2026.
The federal budget also proposes a series of ambitious initiatives including a $15 an hour federal minimum wage, $10 a day childcare by 2025-2026, $18 billion for “safer” and “healthier” Indigenous communities.
Duncan criticized these goals as recycled Liberal promises.
“The budget also re-promises numerous ideas, including a pledge to address child care. This is the 9th time that this pledge has been made by a Liberal government since 1993, and every time they have failed to deliver on their promises,” Duncan stated.
Duncan stated that the federal budget did not provide any timelines or resources to begin safely re-opening Canada’s economy, however, the budget does assign $101.4 billion over three years to support economic recovery and a transition to a green economy.
Duncan criticized this investment as an unrealistic excess.
“Right now, we need to focus on getting through the pandemic and get our businesses opened immediately to start an economic recovery. Our federal government needs a realistic spending plan- and this budget does the opposite by adding over $100 billion in new spending,” Duncan states.
The full federal budget that was presented by the Liberal government can be found here.
