The Federal Finance Minister provided Parliament with a financial update last week. While the update didn’t surprise Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek, it didn’t impress him either.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the fall economic statement on Tuesday, December 14. While it showed a better than expected economic rebound, it had more spending.
For Kurek, he saw the update as more of the same.
“When I listen to the economic update and then read through it to get some deep understanding of the impacts of what is being outlined, the way I describe it is just more of the same,” said Kurek. “We had a throne speech just four and a half weeks prior to that. Throne speeches by their nature are less technical, and certainly, the economic update has more technical details, but it really just continued down the same path outlined in the throne speech.”
He said he has been talking to members who have looked deep into the numbers and say either the numbers don’t line up or tell an incomplete story of what the government is suggesting.
“They are taking credit and trying to paint a picture that everything is rosy in our country, and certainly there are some things that are positive. We are seeing some optimism in the energy industry, there are some other sectors that are seeing a boost because of various circumstances, but overall we are seeing a picture they are painting that everything is alright.”
“In real terms, although our economy is growing, our inflation rate is higher than the growth our economy is facing, which is leading to, in real terms, a hit to those who are most vulnerable by these ups and downs. It is reducing the buying power of Canadians and the dollars they have.”
He says there are implications to the costs of everything going up, including housing, which continues to increase.
“What I think is most concerning is instead of some thoughtful corrections with the government’s plan, they seem to be going down the exact same path they have without hardly any acknowledgment of some of the challenges Canadians are facing,” he said.
Another concern he notes is the impacts to Agriculture as well as the energy sector and further lack of accountability.
“I would note one of the things the government seemed quite proud of is they are reporting a slightly smaller deficit in the fiscal year, but when you take into account the inflationary pressures that are pushing up costs, and that create revenue, it seems like by their own admission they are seeing the impact of inflation to their balance books, but refuse to acknowledge the impact on Canadians’ balance books,” he said.
