Finance committee  It's unfortunate to say this but we're not all in this together. We've seen so many people in the private sector lose their jobs, take a pay cut, maybe even lose their small business, but we've seen no restraint from the federal government from spending more on everything forever.

Finance committee  It's an absolutely staggering amount, and I think what's so eye-watering is that it's not just where the debt is now, but where the debt is going under current projections laid out in the last budget. I mentioned the PBO. I think many Canadians are rightly very concerned about the financial burden that they are leaving to future generations.

Finance committee  It is true that gross debt is much higher than net debt. One thing that I want to bring up, member, with respect, is that I talked about these projections of five decades of deficits. That is startling in and of itself, but the PBO also estimates from their data that it would take at least another two decades to finally pay off that debt.

Finance committee  My name is Franco Terrazzano. I'm the federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. We're a non-partisan advocacy group that has been fighting for lower taxes, less waste and more accountable government for more than 30 years. I thank you for inviting us to present today.