Canadians believe Ottawa is getting it wrong

Canadians think Liberal deficit spending ‘wrong,’ government-funded report suggests

Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Bill Curry

The federal government’s own internal surveys found Canadians believe Ottawa is getting it “wrong” on deficits and spending, but that didn’t stop the Liberals from releasing a third consecutive deficit budget with no timeline for balancing the books.

The Finance Department also tested Canadians’ appetite for a national sugar tax, but the Liberal budget ultimately took a pass on the controversial proposal for tackling obesity.

The fact that Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s Feb. 27 budget contained no timeline for returning to balanced budgets was one of the biggest sources of criticism the minister faced.

The 2018 budget focused on gender equality in the work force and increased funding for scientific research. It also devoted relatively small amounts of new spending to a large number of areas, including regional development, addressing opioid abuse and increased funding for Canada’s spy agencies.

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