Mr. Speaker, Parliament is demanding a budget from this Liberal government. Our Conservative motion passed, requiring the Prime Minister to table a budget this spring, yet the Liberals think they can spend half a trillion dollars without a budget. Single moms, seniors and small business owners do not get the luxury of budget-free spending, and neither should this government.
Yesterday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer warned, clearly, that the Liberals' reckless spending means higher deficits, and exploding interest payments on the federal debt are projected to hit $70 billion per year. This means less money for hospitals and health care, schools and teachers.
Liberals shattered their promise to cap spending at 2%, instead increasing it by 8%. They broke their promise to reduce spending on consultants, ballooning it by 35% to a record-smashing $26 billion, while growing the bureaucracy by 44%. Canadians face nearly 7% unemployment, record-high missed mortgage payments and food prices that are driving even full-time workers to food banks.
It is time for a responsible budget to reverse this lost decade of—