Time to dial in the spending
One of the challenges when in the official opposition is overseeing the government to hold them accountable to Canadians.
At the risk of sounding overtly partisan, with this Liberal government there have been so many ongoing failures and ethical lapses it can be difficult at times to keep track of them all.
It is also critically important to keep sight of the real issues that impact everyday Canadians instead of issues that might be big news in
Ottawa, but will have little impact around the Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola region.
Last year one such issue arose that at the time did not necessarily seem as relevant then as it does now.
In a fiscal update last year presented by Liberal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, the minister made a commitment that her government would project a balanced budget by 2028.
I did not think much of this at the time, given that this Liberal government has a bad habit of making fiscal promises it has no intention of delivering on.
However, what is very relevant today is a comment that the finance minister made at that time, stating that “as the Bank of Canada fights inflation, we will not make its job harder.”
This was a rare and candid admission from this finance minister, acknowledging that endless government spending does indeed counter the efforts of the Bank of Canada to fight inflation.
Indeed, this week, senior economists at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) stated, “The Bank of Canada will have to keep rates higher for longer unless governments do more to dial back their spending.”
In other words, this is yet another admission that the always-be-spending approach currently being utilized by the Liberal/NDP partnership in Ottawa is one of the reasons why many Canadians are now facing crippling high-interest rates with no relief in sight.
Why does this matter?
In a word, inequality. For wealthy individuals who have no mortgage payments or other debt, they are not adversely impacted by these higher interest rates. In fact, many with savings or other investment accounts are earning higher rates of interest from these rate increases.
However, for those who have mortgages, particularly variable rate mortgages or other forms of debt, the rise in monthly or bi-weekly payments is well beyond what many can afford.
Even some on fixed mortgages now facing a renewal are in a situation where they can no longer afford the increased payments at these higher interest rates.
From my perspective, we have a situation where the Bank of Canada fiscal policy is financially crippling some Canadian families while benefiting others. This is not healthy for building a stronger Canada.
Worse, with last week’s announcement from the Bank of Canada for yet another rate hike, the situation is only becoming more critical for many families who have nowhere else to turn.
Meanwhile, the Trudeau Liberal/NDP partnership in Ottawa continues to add billions in new spending with absolutely zero regard for the inflationary impact this spending is having on many Canadian households.
My question this week: do you think it is time the Federal Government took fighting made-in-Canada inflation more seriously?
I can be reached at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or call toll-free at 1-800-665-8711.