Debt climbing
Re: “Nicely balanced,” Editorial, July 16.
Your editorial regarding the federal cabinet shuffle stresses the “strong economic stewardship” and “To a large extent, it’s the Tories’ handling of the country’s finances that have kept them in power.” This is a completely fictional image created by public relations and the inability of the electorate to face facts.
Stephen Harper inherited a $13-billion surplus from the Paul Martin Liberals in 2006, which Finance Minister Jim Flaherty turned into a $500-million deficit two years later, even before the $50-billion stimulus package.
Cuts to the GST, and targeted and corporate tax cuts reduced revenues to such an extent that the government’s ability to pay down debt has been seriously impaired. When the Harper government came to power in 2006, the country’s debt was $481 billion. The country’s debt is now $676 billion and climbing.
In truth, the government’s fiscal performance over the last seven years has been pretty dismal.