(Ottawa) Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre promises to wage a true parliamentary guerrilla warfare to block the passage of Bill C-47 to implement the federal budget until the Trudeau government presents a plan to return to balanced budgets.
His troops intend to use all parliamentary means at their disposal to prevent the Trudeau government from achieving its goals. Among other things, the Conservative Party will present some 900 amendments to Bill C-47, while the Conservative MPs will multiply their speeches in the House of Commons to delay the proceedings.
In addition to presenting a specific plan to return to a balanced budget, the Conservatives are calling for the abolition of the carbon tax. In principle, there are only three weeks of parliamentary work left before the summer recess.
“We want to fight against the inflationary crisis caused by Justin Trudeau. We have two requests. […] We are going to block the budget unless we meet our two conditions, ”certified the Conservative leader on Monday, surrounded by deputies who deal with economic and budgetary files.
“We want to have a plan to balance the budget in order to reduce inflation and reduce interest rates. The government said it could balance the budget in 2027 six months ago. […] The Minister of Finance argues that the deficit fuels inflation. She said it just before increasing the deficit by $60 billion in her last budget, and it affects all families in Canada,” he added.
According to Pierre Poilievre, the spending of the federal government throws “fuel on the inflationary fire” and undermines the work of the Bank of Canada, which must raise interest rates to counter inflation.
He argued that Canadians who will have to renew their mortgages within three years amid high interest rates could trigger a financial crisis.
“This could lead to several bankruptcies. The solution is to lower inflation rates and curb inflation before then,” he argued.
“We will use all the tools in parliament to block the adoption of the budget. We have 900 amendments. We can have very long speeches and we have other means of pressure. We want to restore common sense to fiscal responsibility. We need to end the inflationary crisis facing Canadians. They have difficulty feeding themselves, heating the house and paying their bills,” he also said.
The Trudeau government has already stated that it is determined to pass Bill C-47 before the end of the parliamentary session. The bill is due for third and final reading shortly.
In her latest budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland proposed financial assistance for low-income people burdened by the rising cost of living, the creation of a Canadian dental plan by the end of the year and a bunch of tax credits to double clean energy production by 2050.
Minister Freeland’s third budget is still written in red ink – a $40 billion deficit is projected in fiscal year 2023-24. Returning to a balanced budget remains a distant and uncertain project. The deficit is expected to reach $14 billion in 2027-2028, according to projections by the Department of Finance.
The targeted financial assistance provided in the budget should make it possible to help 11 million Canadian households. This must take the form of a one-time payment that will be distributed as a GST credit. Under this measure, a single person will be able to obtain up to $234, a couple with two children will be entitled to a maximum of $467 and an elderly person could receive up to $225.