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The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the Scott Moe and Justin Trudeau governments continue to increase debt through spending.
Published April 30, 2024 • Last updated 1 hour ago • Reading time 3 minutes
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister Scott Moe in the Prime Minister's Office at Parliament House in Regina, Sask. March 2018.Brandon Harder/Regina Leader-Post Photo by Brandon Harder/Regina Leader-Post
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Consider Canada's two governments. One has increased his debt by twice as much as hers since being elected, and his second has increased his own debt by 166% over the same period.
Which government do you think has better budgeting skills?
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it's simple. It is clear that this is the first method, since the increase in debt is less. But others have no room for gloating. So how is he comparing the two governments?
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The first is the eight years of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Ottawa government, and the second is the Saskatchewan government for the same period.
This is why Premier Scott Moe's comments on the federal budget are a little less humble.
“It's very unfortunate that this is a government that isn't even trying to cut some of its spending and investments and at least try to bring the federal government closer to breaking even,” Moe said when asked about the federal deficit. answered.
While Prime Minister Trudeau's runaway spending cannot be overlooked, Moe should review his record in the provincial ledger.
Prime Minister Trudeau's budget includes a $40 billion deficit and no relief package to help cash-strapped taxpayers. Mo's budget imposed a $273 million deficit on taxpayers and lacked new tax cuts.
Although the numbers are now decreasing at the state level, the problem remains significant. The difference is that Mr. Moe is leading the finances of a province of 1.2 million people, rather than the entire country of about 40 million.
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Since becoming premier in 2018, Moe has balanced exactly one state's budget. And that balanced budget was not the result of any newfound fiscal genius or spending cuts, but rather the huge increase in resource prices that pushed state revenues to record highs.
Prime Minister Trudeau, on the other hand, has maintained a zero budget since his election in 2015. It's natural to criticize the Trudeau government for maxing out taxpayers' credit cards. But Mo's government would also do well to do some serious introspection about its own spending habits.
That's because years of failing to balance the budget means more money has to be wasted every year on interest on the state's debt.
This year, the state will spend $728 million on interest payments on its debt. That equates to approximately $2 million per day. Imagine waking up every morning and shedding millions of dollars because you kept failing to manage your budget.
And this is not a new problem.
Eight years ago, Saskatchewan's debt was about $7.9 billion. It is expected to reach $21.1 billion by the end of this year. During the same period, the government wasted about $4.5 billion in interest costs. This means more than this year's entire education budget was wasted on Saskatchewan interests during this period.
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That's because the government keeps spending money it doesn't have. The Saskatchewan government is spending about $2.6 billion more this year than in 2016-17, adjusted for inflation. And such spending means a deficit.
The longstanding deficit is not due to the government cutting taxes. State revenues are higher than they have ever been. Part of the reason is that the government raised the state sales tax from 5% to 6% in 2017, putting it on more things.
The government then repeated the same move in 2022, starting to charge PST on tickets to events such as the Rider Games.
Despite all this rhetoric, there is more that unites Mr. Mo and Mr. Trudeau than divides them when it comes to rising debt. If Mo wants to criticize Ottawa, he needs to get his own finances in order first.
Gage Haubrich is Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Recommendations from the editorial department
Opinion: Saskatchewan slips back into deficit as spending increases
OPINION: Saskatchewan needs to balance next budget to combat rising debt
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