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Results: 106 - 120 of 172
View Dean Allison Profile
CPC (ON)
Mr. Chair, the message from the president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Perrin Beatty, and also other industries, is that we need a clear and coherent plan from this government because there's a whole hodgepodge of regulations and confusion about what's going to happen through the strategy.
What I've told the government is that we need a strategy to reflect local conditions that is consistent and has a clear timeline so that businesses can begin to open safely and with confidence.
What is the government doing to make this happen?
View Bill Morneau Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Chair, we absolutely agree. It is important for businesses to have an understanding of the programs that we've put in place. We have been consulting with businesses on the appropriate way to extend the wage subsidy so that we can continue to support businesses as they turn towards a safe restart. We've also looked very carefully at how we can ensure that the programs that we've put forward—
View Kelly McCauley Profile
CPC (AB)
Would you be able to report back to us in mid-June on whether they have given you that information? That's disgraceful that DND, for half a trillion [Technical difficulty—Editor]. It's just like asking for the bid information on the ships, where they delayed for years.
Let me ask you one last question. Will all this emergency spending going on right now put into jeopardy the “Strong, Secure, Engaged” spending plans?
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2020-05-29 11:18
That's a question that the government would be in a good position to answer. For example, in the need to return to more sustainable spending, if the government decides to cut some aspects of government operations and targets defence spending, then it could put in jeopardy “Strong, Secure, Engaged” spending, or DND spending more generally. However, if it decides to reduce other areas of government spending, it could leave DND [Technical difficulty—Editor].
These are all policy choices that the government will have to make when it decides the way in which it wants to return to more sustainable levels of deficit, or even a balanced budget.
View Julie Vignola Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much.
In your statement, you spoke about certain measures that could become permanent. What are the measures that could become permanent?
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2020-05-29 11:26
It depends of course on the wishes or intentions of the government.
One of the measures that could become permanent, since Canadians are very pleased with it, is the Canada emergency response benefit. It is much simpler to administer than the employment insurance program and easier to understand. People receive a set amount per week, whether they are wage earners or self-employed workers, who are also covered by the emergency benefit. There could be a lot of pressure on the government to make it permanent.
That said, I am absolutely not expressing any judgment or opinion on the advisability of making the measure permanent or not. That is a political question that falls to the government and to parliamentarians.
View Majid Jowhari Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Mr. Giroux, for providing the testimony.
You indicated that based on your analysis, we're going from 30% to about 48% of debt-to-GDP ratio, and that was as of, I believe, April 24. You also mentioned that another $7 billion after that needs to be added to the debt, and assuming the same rate of GDP growth, we would be, as you mentioned, higher, but you didn't specifically say where that would position us.
You also mentioned that we could reach about 66%, comparable to the 66% in 1995. As of today, where would our debt-to-GDP ratio be with the addition of the $7 billion?
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2020-05-29 11:48
Doing some quick math in my head, which is always risky, I would say we would be close to 49% debt-to-GDP ratio if we also included the $7.6 billion announced since April 24.
View Majid Jowhari Profile
Lib. (ON)
Then applying the same quick math, and if we say that as these emergency supports come to an end we'll stop doing that, where do you think we will end with the GDP ratio? This is assuming all of these will finish at the time we've announced for them to finish.
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2020-05-29 11:49
That is highly hypothetical, but assuming that the programs that are temporary do remain temporary and sunset, and with the slow recovery that we expect, it would not be unthinkable to have 55% debt-to-GDP ratio by the end of the next fiscal year. That's assuming the economic recovery is at a reasonable pace.
View Majid Jowhari Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you.
Where would that put us vis-à-vis the debt? What would you anticipate would be the debt growth? We know there's $255 billion and another $7.5 billion, so what would our debt balloon to?
Yves Giroux
View Yves Giroux Profile
Yves Giroux
2020-05-29 11:49
It would certainly be above a trillion dollars, so one thousand billion dollars. The exact level is highly hypothetical. We have not published a scenario analysis for beyond the current fiscal year, because it's highly uncertain.
View Ziad Aboultaif Profile
CPC (AB)
There are also many questions that remain to be answered on the timing and effectiveness of the government's response to COVID-19, especially with regard to recommendations on using personal protective equipment and measures to prevent the COVID-19 virus coming into Canada.
Will your office be looking into investigating the effectiveness of the Government of Canada on the pandemic measures?
View Brad Vis Profile
CPC (BC)
Thank you.
We're watching the government spend hundreds of billions of dollars on various programs right now without accounting for it.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has stated that it's possible for the debt to reach one trillion dollars this year. He also stated that the government doesn't have an overall economic plan.
If not now, when is the appropriate time for economic oversight and transparency in accounting for the federal government's spending?
I would especially like your comments on how that impacts our Canadian labour market.
Tammy Schirle
View Tammy Schirle Profile
Tammy Schirle
2020-05-22 11:38
I will suggest that that's a really big question that would take me longer and a bit more research than I have time for right now. I also am not one to track deficits as closely as some of my colleagues do.
I would suggest that as long as we are able to reasonably say that these expenditures are needed, it is what we need to do.
I also think that, with the wide range of uncertainty in any estimates that could go out right now, those numbers would be fairly meaningless, to be honest, if we tried to project exactly what that debt is and how far it will go over the next few months.
We could make up numbers. We could try to pretend that we have best-case and worst-case scenarios. I know there are many numbers out there to consider, but I would not consider them right now to be reasonable estimates that provide us with a clear picture of what is coming ahead.
Results: 106 - 120 of 172 | Page: 8 of 12

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