Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and his cabinet took the time to prepare a spending plan, but they did not make the time to prepare a plan to pay for it.
Last week, I asked a simple question: “With the economic storm clouds moving in, how is it possible not to have a budget this spring?”
Since then, the Liberal government presented the main estimates to Parliament to request nearly half a trillion dollars, $486 billion, to fund the government until next March. However, it has not presented a budget, which is the very document that shows how it intends to pay for all of this spending. How irresponsible is that? Imagine someone walking into a bank for a mortgage with all of their expenses, their car payments, groceries and student debt, but refusing to provide evidence of their income. Any lender would tell them to come back when they have evidence of their income.
As a finance professional of 14 years, I say the same to this Liberal government: Come back when there is a plan to pay for all of this spending. The government says economic conditions may change over the summer. Yes, there is an uncertain world, there are summits, and there are shifting forecasts. That is exactly why we need a budget. When income is lost, we budget. When costs rise, we budget. When we want to change our circumstances, we budget. Our GDP is struggling, our productivity is down, our purchasing power is crumbling and the unemployment rate is rising. These are the fingerprints of 10 years of failed Liberal policies.
If the Prime Minister and his finance minister want to be taken seriously as stewards of the economy, they need to do what every family, every business and every government must do: put forward a budget.
It is my sincere hope that we can work together to provide relief to Canadian families and businesses and to steer Canada in the right direction. However, the government needs to provide the fundamental information for every parliamentarian to make an informed decision on what is best for Canadians. On matters of finance, my trust is built on numbers, on accountability and on a budget.
I ask again: With the economic storm clouds moving in, how is it possible not to produce a budget this spring?