OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing the Conservative Party’s fiscal plan released today for lacking a credible plan to balance the budget.

“Federal government spending is at all-time highs, but the Conservatives can’t seem to find any fat on the budget to cut,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director with the CTF. “The Conservatives hope the economy will balance the budget. But what happens if reality isn’t as rosy? Will the Conservatives find savings or let the debt balloon?”

Today the Conservative Party released its “plan to get government spending under control and balance the budget over the next decade.”  CPC Leader Erin O’Toole said he can balance the budget by growing the economy “without cuts.”

If the Conservatives are having trouble finding ways to save money, the CTF has identified obvious examples of wasteful spending:

• Reverse the TWO pay raises members of Parliament gave themselves during the pandemic
• End the $206,040 per year expense account for former governors general
• Abolish the Mission Cultural Fund that spent $8,813 on a sex-toy art show in Germany
• Stop handing out corporate welfare to select businesses, such as the $295 million the federal government gave to the Ford Motor Company
• Force political parties to pay back the federal wage subsidy meant for struggling Canadians

Even before the pandemic, the federal government had increased spending to all-time highs in 2018, according to the Fraser Institute.

“It sounds like O’Toole thinks the budget will balance itself, but taxpayers know that’s not how it works,” said Terrazzano. “Next time the Conservatives release a plan to balance the budget, they should remember to include a plan to balance the budget.”