Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland maintains marking up the debt ceiling 16% is “fiscally responsible” even as senators tell her she has “lost control” of federal spending. In testifying at the Senate National Finance Committee Wednesday, Freeland did not explain the unprecedented increase, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Freeland in her latest budget released in April revised the federal debt ceiling to a record $2.13 trillion under the Borrowing Authority Act. Committee chair Tory Sen. Claude Carignan noted during the meeting debt interest charges will average $54.1 billion this year by official estimate.“I love answering questions about fiscal responsibility,” Freeland told the committee.“Our government’s approach is fiscally responsible.” “Have you lost control?” asked Carignan. “Certainly not,” replied Freeland.Tory Sen. Elizabeth Marshall questioned how the Trudeau Liberal administration expected Canadians to “suffer through” shouldering the costs of its “crippling debt.”“You are going to reach some milestones this year. Government expenses are going to exceed half a trillion dollars and public debt charges are going to exceed $50 billion. So that’s $1 billion a week.”“You are spending the money but you are not getting the results and you are saddling millennials and future generations with crippling debt. You have lost the confidence of Canadians. You said this is your economic plan but there is nothing in the budget to address the suffering of Canadians.”“Why is there no recognition in your budget as to the suffering of what people are going through in Canada?”“I absolutely accept we will have disagreements about ideology and maybe some values,” replied Freeland.“Two trillion dollars in debt,” said Marshall. “We are not going to be around to pay it back. We are leaving it for our children and our grandchildren. You are just spending. You have lost control of your spending. I mean, we are going to have debt of over $2 trillion. That is what your budget is saying.”“I would really strongly disagree with pretty much everything you said,” replied Freeland, without explaining what she disagrees with. Parliament has not balanced a budget since 2007. Freeland in her April 16 budget, themed “fairness for every generation,” wrote that “it would be irresponsible and unfair to pass more debt to the next generation.” She did not set any target to resume balanced budgeting.Debt interest charges, now the fastest growing line item in the federal budget, will reach $65 billion annually by 2030. Public debt charges are projected to reach $64.3 billion in 2029 “due to higher effective interest rates and higher borrowing requirements,” wrote the Department of Finance. The figure is greater than federal spending on medicare or national defence.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland maintains marking up the debt ceiling 16% is “fiscally responsible” even as senators tell her she has “lost control” of federal spending. In testifying at the Senate National Finance Committee Wednesday, Freeland did not explain the unprecedented increase, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. Freeland in her latest budget released in April revised the federal debt ceiling to a record $2.13 trillion under the Borrowing Authority Act. Committee chair Tory Sen. Claude Carignan noted during the meeting debt interest charges will average $54.1 billion this year by official estimate.“I love answering questions about fiscal responsibility,” Freeland told the committee.“Our government’s approach is fiscally responsible.” “Have you lost control?” asked Carignan. “Certainly not,” replied Freeland.Tory Sen. Elizabeth Marshall questioned how the Trudeau Liberal administration expected Canadians to “suffer through” shouldering the costs of its “crippling debt.”“You are going to reach some milestones this year. Government expenses are going to exceed half a trillion dollars and public debt charges are going to exceed $50 billion. So that’s $1 billion a week.”“You are spending the money but you are not getting the results and you are saddling millennials and future generations with crippling debt. You have lost the confidence of Canadians. You said this is your economic plan but there is nothing in the budget to address the suffering of Canadians.”“Why is there no recognition in your budget as to the suffering of what people are going through in Canada?”“I absolutely accept we will have disagreements about ideology and maybe some values,” replied Freeland.“Two trillion dollars in debt,” said Marshall. “We are not going to be around to pay it back. We are leaving it for our children and our grandchildren. You are just spending. You have lost control of your spending. I mean, we are going to have debt of over $2 trillion. That is what your budget is saying.”“I would really strongly disagree with pretty much everything you said,” replied Freeland, without explaining what she disagrees with. Parliament has not balanced a budget since 2007. Freeland in her April 16 budget, themed “fairness for every generation,” wrote that “it would be irresponsible and unfair to pass more debt to the next generation.” She did not set any target to resume balanced budgeting.Debt interest charges, now the fastest growing line item in the federal budget, will reach $65 billion annually by 2030. Public debt charges are projected to reach $64.3 billion in 2029 “due to higher effective interest rates and higher borrowing requirements,” wrote the Department of Finance. The figure is greater than federal spending on medicare or national defence.
