When a family prepares a budget, they want to ensure that their spending does not exceed their income. In a good budget, there will be a provision for savings and some money set aside for a “rainy day”—for unusual or unforeseen expenses. The federal budget, rolled out on Tuesday, has no trace of such prudence.

Finance Minister Freeland’s 2023 budget is a litany of indulgences and contains not a trace of restraint. There is no provision for a rainy day or for savings; Budget 2023 calls for more federal spending than in 2022 and predicts further deficits for the foreseeable future. The deficit predicted for 2023 is about $40 billion (“predicted” is the key word here; Liberal budget predictions have been notoriously inaccurate since they’ve been in office).

When projected deficit spending is added to the current accumulated debt, we can see that by the end of 2023, Canadians will be carrying a $1.2 trillion national debt and we’ll be spending over $120 million on the interest alone . . . every single day!

Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Freeland have included in the budget taxpayer-funded dental care for Canadian households with annual incomes under $90,000; that gives Jagmeet Singh a badly-needed talking point for his base and likely guarantees NDP support for this corrupt Liberal government at least through the summer. While Mr. Singh continues to grandstand on what he considers excessive profits for grocery store chains, he and his colleagues make no apology for their own very generous salaries and benefits which are directly drawn from the beleaguered taxpayer. Backbench MPs will be getting paid $194,000 per year (plus expenses) after their next raise kicks in on April 1. This is the 4^th straight year of raises for MPs; “we’re in this together” must mean something different to them than it does to you and me.

Of course, this “budget” is loaded with perks for the eco-conscious, something for the race-focused and a dollop for those who think gender confusion is something to be proud of. These boutique handouts are specifically designed to buy votes from the gullible, using the hard-earned dollars of those for whom these issues are a much lower priority than feeding their families and paying their bills.

The budget has a relatively meaningless, but much-ballyhooed grocery rebate, for those on lower incomes. Eligible families will get a one-time break of $487. Contrast this with the $5,000-plus raise MPs are giving themselves (over $10,000 for the Prime Minister) and echoes of “Let them eat cake” come to mind. Unfortunately, not every Canadian can detect the sleight-of-hand that allows entrenched politicians to rob them blind at tax time and then pretend to show compassion by handing out bundles of cash to select groups with gusto and fanfare.

The ever-present and ever-growing scourge of carbon taxes is also hitting families hard but—instead of dropping them to relieve inflation-plagued consumers—the Liberals are increasing them. Unbelievably short-sighted and tone-deaf . . . but then, this budget was never about solving problems but only about advancing the agenda. Mr. Trudeau is counting on the Canadians who have been thoroughly brainwashed regarding carbon and climate change to accept these additional costs as a necessary sacrifice to “save the planet.” On April 1, the federal carbon tax will go up to 14 cents per litre of gasoline. Even after rebates, the carbon tax will cost Canadian families an average additional $710 at the pump. As mentioned in previous commentaries, carbon taxes are a significant factor in grocery price increases.

A couple of budget items that could easily be missed stand out for their sheer hypocrisy:

• $359 million over 5 years to address the opioid crisis. Not only is this a relatively small amount considering the horrific magnitude of the problem (7,169 Canadians died of opioid overdose in 2021 alone), but this government has promoted recreational drug use with “gateway drugs” like marijuana and now supports legalizing all drugs. You can’t reduce opioid abuse while promoting drug use.
• $158 million over 3 years for a suicide prevention hotline. The government is schizophrenic on this point, as it simultaneously promotes and pays for assisted suicide for the elderly and the vulnerable and wants to include mature minors and the mentally ill. Over 10,000 Canadians were killed last year by doctor-assisted suicide. Assisting suicide and preventing suicide are mutually exclusive goals.
• Creation of a new agency to “combat foreign interference.” This takes the cake. While Mr. Trudeau hobnobs at Davos with the WEF, allows the WHO to dictate health policy, allows CCP police stations and military training in Canada and Chinese money to be laundered to Liberal candidates, to say that he and Ms. Freeland are going to combat foreign influence is a bit rich . . . but it plays well on taxpayer-funded CBC.

The Christian Heritage Party has a long-standing policy of mandatory balanced budgets, paying down the debt and eliminating the crippling interest on our national debt. We would scrap the carbon tax immediately and bring Parliamentary salaries and benefits to appropriate levels. We won’t try to buy your vote but we will protect your wallet. We ask you to help us restore fiscal sanity and biblical morality to this Canada we all love.