OTTAWA, ON: Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Aaron Wudrick released the following statement in response to today’s federal economic and fiscal snapshot:

“The federal debt is about to hit $1,000,000,000,000, according the federal fiscal update, and Canadians should be alarmed.

“Unfortunately, Ottawa doesn’t seem to have a plan to manage this deep dive into debt. For all the specifics he provided today, Finance Minister Bill Morneau may as well have posted a picture on Instagram.

“Pandemic-related spending has caused the deficit to balloon by more than one thousand per cent in just four months. Much of this spending was intended to temporarily address the COVID-19 crisis, but these programs are extremely expensive and unsustainable. Minister Morneau needs to lay out a plan to turn off the taps, but he failed to do that.

“In particular, it is clear that the government must either end or significantly reform the Canada Emergency Response Benefit which creates a strong unintended incentive for people to stay out of the workforce.

 “We call on Minister Morneau to commit to providing a more comprehensive fiscal update and budget.”