Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s magazine, The Taxpayer, came in the mail today and I read it with some trepidation. I never know whether to laugh or cry when reading their feature stories. In this issue, CTF Federal Director Kevin Gaudet’s article on federal government spending confirmed my worst fears about “the run-away-train-wreck” we call Ottawa.
Here are the Federal Government’s spending facts:
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Canada’s federal debt increased by $152 million per day in 2009-10 and continues to increase by $124 million per day in 2010-11.
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The $105.2 billion in debt paid down between 1997-98 and 2007-08 (by Chretien and Martin) will have been added back in 2011 (by Harper and Flaherty).
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Program spending has increased by 40% during the four fiscal years between 2006-07 and 2009-10 (Harper’s Conservatives). This is an increase of $70 billion.
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The last 40% four-year program spending increase was between 1972-73 and 1975-76 (Trudeau’s Liberals).
Can you believe this horrible re-run of “Back to the Future” – when you have a Conservative “fiscally prudent” Government spending like Trudeau’s deficit-financing administration of the mid-seventies?
The out of control spending in Ottawa has to stop. We can only hope for some signs of sanity and sobriety in the up-coming federal budget. Yet, with this government’s track record on spending and public sector growth, is there any hope?
