A report from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute condemns the federal government’s pandemic income support program as badly missing the mark, massively overspending on benefits to individuals, and indebting the country without helping those who need it most. According to the report, in the second quarter of the year, household disposable income rose the most of any major nation as federal transfers more than replaced the loss of earned income during the lockdown. Most of this money was saved rather than spent.

The result, government deficits in Canada were the largest of the G20 and nearly twice as large as Europe. According to the report, while earned income dropped by 7.4 per cent, household incomes shot up by 10.8 per cent, largely due to government transfers.

Study author Phillip Cross says, the high savings rate indicates either the recipients didn’t need the money or didn’t need as much as they received.

Cross says future generations will have to face higher taxes or lower government spending in order to pay back the interest on the spending spree.

A report from the C.D. Howe Institute says, a GST hike may be in the offing if Ottawa starts down the road of permanent post-pandemic spending increases.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the Liberals have taken the federal deficit from $19 billion to $381 billion in just nine months.

It means, in a few weeks, Canada’s total debt will sail past one trillion dollars.
Right now, the CTF’s national debt clock has us at over $948 billion in debt.