Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on Sunday called for lowering taxes, capping government spending and easing housing construction, ahead of the tabling of the federal budget scheduled for March 28.
At a press briefing in Ottawa, Mr. Poilievre blamed the rising cost of living on “inflationary deficits that raise interest rates” and “gas taxes that raise prices at the pump. “.
He argued that “Canadians can’t afford their housing, food and energy bills after eight years of Justin Trudeau.” “There is one in five Canadians who miss meals because it is too expensive to eat,” he recalled, referring to the results of a study by the Canadian Center for Applied and Social Research at the University from Saskatchewan released in October.
The latest report from the Bank of Canada estimated the increase in the consumer price index at 5.9% for the month of January.
According to Mr. Poilievre, the best solution for households to keep their heads above water is to lower taxes. “We need a system that rewards hard work,” he said.
Cap spending
He also wants to “put in place a legal limit to control spending” by the state.
The government’s financial report for the 2021-2022 fiscal year shows that Canada’s debt stood at $1,134.5 billion, about $90 billion more than the previous year. However, the debt had also decreased to 45.5% of gross domestic product, compared to 47.5% the previous year.
This follows several pandemic years, where emergency economic aid programs had been put in place.
In order to be able to lower taxes while eliminating the budget deficit, Mr. Poilievre proposed cutting funding for CBC/Radio-Canada and “eliminating the waste on high-cost consultants”, a reference to the American firm McKinsey, highly solicited by the Trudeau government and remunerated in millions of dollars.
Build housing
The Conservative leader also addressed the housing crisis and pointed the finger at municipal administrations, whose “bureaucracy” is hampering, according to him, the creation of new homes.
“Canada is ranked 64e world class” in terms of how long it takes to get planning permission, he said. This ranking is taken from the 2020 edition of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. It should be noted that this analysis is based on data from the City of Toronto.
“If municipal politicians prevent construction, they should receive less money for infrastructure”, while if they speed up construction, they should receive more, argued the Conservative leader.
The office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland replied by email that on March 28, our government will release the next steps in our plan to make life more affordable, strengthen public health care and create good, middle-class jobs in a clean, growing economy.”