(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

covid-19

Liberals have no mandate for spending: Hoback

Dec 1, 2020 | 5:35 PM

Prince Albert MP, Conservative Randy Hoback, says the federal Liberal minority government does not have a mandate for large amounts of the proposed COVID response spending that includes money for social programs.

Hoback says much of what’s planned for the $100 billion in new spending announced by finance minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday will create structural debt the country can’t afford. Spending to date could see the deficit grow to around $400 billion.

Freeland has suggested her government won’t make the mistakes of austerity pursued by the Harper government following the 2008 financial crisis, highlighting the low cost of borrowing these days. In 2011 Harper cut spending across many government departments as part of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan. Freeland announced around $25 billion in new spending is being set aside to top up and expand existing programs and create new, targeted support for hard-hit industries. But it’s some of the longer term borrowing and what some of it is aimed at that Hoback objects to.

“We’ve never had an issue with supporting Canadians and Canadian businesses through the pandemic, that’s not the issue,” Hoback told paNOW, noting Conservatives have never argued about the affordability of spending money to address the economic impact of the pandemic. “The issue is… the [Liberals] are creating new programs that are going to create a structural debt; new payments taxpayers are going to have to pay for. These are things that weren’t necessarily talked about in the previous election.”

Hoback criticized money being allocated by the Liberals towards a national pharmacare program and national childcare planning as coming too soon given the pressing economic state of the nation.

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“In normal times if we had a really booming economy and we could afford it, maybe those are things we should look at but in this scenario I don’t see how this makes it easier for businesses to stay open or for people to take care of their families,” he said.

Hoback said in 2008-09 the Harper government targeted spending on bringing crucial infrastructure projects forward on things like roads and bridges but suggested now the Liberals were using the COVID crisis as a way of pushing their social program agenda.

“They’re spending money on all sorts of new types of programs that one would have to look at and say is that really a priority for Canadians at this point in time considering what they’ve just gone through?” he said.

Monday’s economic statement from the minority Liberal government must first survive a confidence vote in the House of Commons. If that doesn’t happen there could be a federal election.

“I am reasonably confident that none of the opposition parties wants an election right now. We certainly don’t want one,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters outside his Ottawa residence Tuesday. “We want to get these supports out to Canadians. And there are certainly things in this fall economic statement that every party should be able to support in terms of helping Canadians.”

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With files from The Canadian Press

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow