On Parliament Hill

Recently the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) issued a report that said public finances in Canada have become unsustainable due to permanent increases in federal spending and ongoing provincial shortfalls. The PBO warned that the single biggest challenge facing the Liberal government is funding health care.

Conservative Health Critic Colin Carrie recently stated, “The Liberal government’s reckless spending shows a complete disregard for the fact that the costs of health care keep rising. The PBO’s findings confirm that the Liberal’s out-of-control spending is causing public debt to grow uncontrollably, and he is sounding the alarm about how governments will pay for essential health care services in the future.”

The PBO report comes as the Liberal government plans to run deficits worth more than $100 billion over the next four years.

Finance Critic Lisa Raitt added, “Provinces and territories will eventually need more money for health care, but at this rate the Liberal government won’t have anything left to give them. That means they’ll either have to raise taxes on Canadians or cut their health care services.”

The PBO estimates that in order to meet health care costs and keep public debt under control, governments will need to collectively hike taxes or cut spending by $11 billion per year. One way or another, Canadians are going to foot the bill for Liberal mismanagement. In just six months, the Liberals have already raised taxes on middle-class families, students and small business owners.

The previous Conservative Government offset rising provincial debt by balancing the federal budget. At the same time, we reduced taxes to their lowest point in 50 years which saved a typical family of four almost $7000 per year.

Unfortunately, it appears that the Liberals just cannot help themselves when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Borrowed money must be paid back, and the only way the Liberals can do that is by raising taxes.

Canadian families can’t afford higher taxes and certainly don’t want to see a weakened health care system. Conservatives will continue to protect our health care by holding the Liberal Government accountable for its out-of-control spending.