Michael Chong

Mr. Speaker, interest costs on the national debt are skyrocketing. By 2030, they will chew up 14¢ of every tax dollar, which is $85.5 billion a year and $8,000 for a typical family of four. That is more than we will spend on public health care, and more than we will spend on a whole range of other social programs. It is the fastest-growing expense in the government's budget. What is the [more]

Prime Minister Mr. Speaker, my colleague makes a very good point. Therisks losing fiscal credibility with markets by following the pattern, frankly, of the previous Trudeau government in establishing ever-changing fiscal anchors and never meeting them. Prime Minister We all saw this story play out in the mid-1990s. Markets can very quickly lose confidence in a government's ability to service its [more]

Mr. Speaker, in most projections, growth remains anemic, below 1% this year, which is essentially zero. Over the past six months, the government has announced tens of billions of dollars in tax expenditures outside of this place, which we only got the details of yesterday in the budget, so I have a simple question. Will the government commit that in the next six months, it is not going to be [more]

Mr. Speaker, I think my hon. colleague is raising an important point about the debt. The problem, first off, is that the government uses different definitions of net debt in the same document. The document opens with a net debt definition used by the International Monetary Fund. Later on, in the annexes, it uses a completely different definition of net debt. In fact, it does not even refer to it [more]

Calgary Crowfoot Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for. Prime Minister This budget fails to establish a credible fiscal anchor to reduce the debt and to balance the budget. The fiscal anchors of Liberal budgets of the past decade were ever-changing and never met. Thehas continued with that practice. The national debt is increasing, interest costs are starting to take off [more]

Mr. Speaker, I think the problem is that, although we are not currently in a fiscal crisis, the government needs to prepare for future crises like the ones in 2008 or 2020, which forced the government to spend a great deal of money to support our fellow Canadians. The problem with the government's budget is that the national debt is 10% higher than it was in 2008 and 2020. The government is [more]

Mr. Speaker, this budget would be better titled “masters of increasing debt and interest payments”. The budget fails to establish a credible fiscal anchor to reduce the debt and balance the budget. The national debt on the government's own plans is increasing over the next five-year horizon, interest costs are starting to take off, and there is no plan to balance the budget. Prime Minister All [more]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs a serious fiscal anchor, less debt and a path to balanced budgets. That is what Kevin Lynch, former finance deputy minister and clerk— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

Mr. Speaker, borrowing costs are rising, growth is stagnating and risks are tilted to the downside. Canada's fiscal buffers are depleting, leaving us unable to deal with the next major crisis that the Prime Minister's own national security strategy says could be coming. The government's fiscal anchors have done little to rein in government spending and borrowing, so will the Prime Minister [more]

Mr. Speaker, the government needs a serious fiscal anchor, less debt and a path to a balanced budget. That is what Kevin Lynch, former deputy minister of finance and clerk, said today. It is what economist Chris Ragan said yesterday. It is what former finance official Don Drummond has been saying for months. The PBO has said that the interest on the national debt has doubled since 2021 to $60 [more]

Prime Minister Prime Minister Mr. Speaker, the's new national security framework states that Canada needs to “Prepare for all contingencies up to and including war and other worst-case scenarios.” It puts economic security at the heart of that plan. Canada had the fiscal capacity to deal with the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic, but the government's rising debt and interest are [more]

Mr. Speaker, four times I have asked a question about the government's fiscal targets and four times there has been no answer. Here is why the question is important. Here is what economist Christopher Ragan said in today's Globe: ...our governments are suffering from “fiscal complacency.”... They are doing what is easy and painless in the short run, but avoiding the tougher decisions that would [more]

Mr. Speaker, the net debt calculation the government used in its last budget is the IMF's net debt calculation, which includes the Canada pension plan. I am sure that Canadians listening would not like to know that the government's calculation involves using the assets of the Canada pension plan to offset its rapidly growing debt. Prime Minister Thecame to office with a much vaunted fiscal [more]

Prime Minister Mr. Speaker, I asked this question twice last week but did not get an answer. It is an important question because it speaks to the fiscal credibility of the, so again I will ask it. Prime Minister Last budget, theestablished a fiscal anchor of a declining deficit to GDP. The PBO projects that the government will not keep to this fiscal anchor. Will the government keep to this [more]