FINA Committee Report

Conservative Dissenting Report

Background

The Liberal Government inherited great fortune: a balanced budget, booming US and global economies, roaring housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver and record low interest rates. All this good fortune added up to a $20 billion windfall of extra revenue last year. A responsible government would have used this windfall to pay down the debt, Justin Trudeau chose instead to squander it.

Justin Trudeau has failed to only run small deficits of $10 billion a year, and to balance the budget by 2019, like he promised.  Instead, this year’s deficit is now almost $20 billion, three times what Justin Trudeau said it would be, and he has added $60 billion in debt.  Finance Canada is projecting 25 more years of deficits at this rate. Justin Trudeau said that the budget would balance itself. But if it doesn’t balance with all his good fortune, when will it?

Just as Canadians will be paying higher interest on record household debt, they will face massive tax increases to pay for Justin Trudeau’s spiraling debt. 

Conservative Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance propose the following dissenting report:

Balance the Budget

Tell Canadians in what year the budget will be balanced and to do so in Budget 2019.

Scrap the Carbon Tax

Cancel the carbon tax that will raise the cost of gas, groceries, home heating and other essentials Canadians rely on everyday; while large industrial polluters have been granted an exemption on the carbon tax.

Scrap Bill C-69

Bill C-69, the “no more pipelines act”, will exacerbate the ongoing crisis facing Canada’s energy sector, which has lost more than 120,000 under the Liberal government.

Build Energy East

The Energy East pipeline would bring one million barrels of oil per day from western Canada to refineries in eastern Canada.

Cancel Asian Infrastructure Bank Spending

Immediately end the $526 million committed to the Asian Infrastructure Bank, that is using Canadian taxpayer dollars to build pipelines in China and other countries, without any Canadian companies receiving construction contracts. 

Stop the Flow of Illegal Border Crossers

Over 38,000 people have illegally crossed the border into Canada from the United States as the current government continues to bus them to homeless shelters and hotels with no long-term plan. Taxpayers should not be on the hook for the Liberal’s failure to safely and responsibly manage Canada’s borders.

Cancel Payroll Tax Increases

Cancel the increases to CPP payroll tax increases, that will result in a net tax increase for Canadian families.

Opportunities for Workers with Disabilities

Ensure that persons with disabilities never lose more in benefits and taxation than they gain as a result of earning increased employment income.