Federal budgets should target balance, not the inadequate fiscal anchor

The government’s weak fiscal anchor is the fundamental defect of Budget 2022, justifying higher spending, continued borrowing, and ever-increasing debt charges, all of which erode Canada’s financial resilience.

While Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland properly urges in her foreward that 'the extraordinary debts we incurred to keep Canadians safe and solvent must be paid down,' the budget does the opposite by adding $150 billion to that debt over the next five years, reaching a total exceeding $1.3 trillion, writes Geoffrey Turner. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia

Opinion

BY GEOFFREY TURNER

April 25, 2022

Budget 2022 claims fiscal responsibility by adhering to the fiscal anchor of a declining debt-to-GDP ratio over the next five years, without ever projecting budget balance.

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