Check It Out: It’s very rare, but you’re hearing it now

By Joan Janzen

Rare occurrences are described in many ways: “once in a blue moon,” “don’t hold your breath,” “like finding a needle in a haystack,” and “when pigs fly” are just a few examples.

It certainly was a rare occurrence when Jason Jacques, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), stood in front of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and described Canada’s fiscal outlook with the words “very serious, stupefying, shocking, and unsustainable.”

“It’s very, very rare, but we’re hearing it now,” Ryan Davies, host of Northern Perspective, said. “One of the government’s own employees is essentially shredding the government’s narrative.”

The PBO pointed out that the most important word in the release was “unsustainable” as he continued to explain: “We don’t lightly use the word unsustainable. I’ve been in the office for 17 years. I was working in the federal government putting together budgets for 10 years prior to that. We don’t want to be alarmists, but at the same time, the current path we’re on, in terms of federal debt as a share of the economy, is unsustainable.”

The host of Northern Perspective said, “CBC isn’t going to talk about this. The Liberals certainly aren’t going to talk about this. Canadians need to see this. The Liberals’ own PBO is saying Canada is moving full speed ahead to a train wreck.”

The PBO’s words were very clear: “It’s a really serious fiscal outlook. ‘Unsustainable’ means you don’t have the option of saying, maybe I’ll wait a couple of years and see how things go. It means if you don’t change—this is done. I think everybody should be concerned.”

The non-partisan PBO offered a simple explanation regarding the state of the economy: “I think, as anyone who has managed a household budget knows, if you sit down at the end of the month and don’t have enough money to pay your bills, and it happens month after month after month, you know that something’s going to break.”

Ryan described Jacques as someone who has seen both Conservative and Liberal governments. “The lowest debt-to-GDP ratio is what the Liberals have bragged about for years, but now the PBO is saying the debt-to-GDP ratio is going up,” Ryan said.

This means the debt the country is carrying is growing, and the ratio between that and the amount we produce is shrinking—a very problematic trend.

“He is saying we haven’t seen that in over 30 years,” Ryan added. “This guy, who works for the Liberal government, is saying we are on the wrong track and need to change now. It’s chilling hearing him say that.”

A Liberal MP asked the PBO how Canada compares to other G7 countries, stressing that we’re doing comparatively better. However, he may have been surprised by the response he received.

Jacques admitted Canada is in a favourable position compared to other G7 countries, but his answer didn’t end there: “I would say, for myself, the analogy is—if you’re 200 pounds overweight and everybody else in your weight-loss group is 400 pounds overweight and can’t get out of bed… relatively, we’re in a more advantageous position. We have space and time to move quickly to rectify the situation,” he responded.

He continued, saying the International Monetary Fund has been advising all countries to reduce deficits, batten down the hatches, and prepare to make some tough decisions. “We might have more time than other countries (such as France and the U.K.), but we’re going to end up in a very similar place,” he suggested.

The PBO was essentially saying the government has two options: either cut spending or raise revenue, i.e., taxes. Yet Ryan pointed out Canada is increasing both spending and debt.

The Minister of Finance responded to the PBO report by promoting the federal government’s “generational investment in our future.” But “investment” is just another way of saying “spending tax dollars.”

Franco Terrazzano from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation weighed in on this report online, saying, “The PBO report should be a five-alarm siren to end the government’s debt-fuelled spending spree. Carney plans to borrow billions of dollars more than Trudeau.”

Canada Minute’s recent issue reported the federal deficit is projected at $68.5 billion this year, as Canadians await the federal budget, to be presented Nov. 4. According to a report by True North, since 2019 the public sector has grown at a rate 50 per cent faster than the private sector, which is not helpful.

MP Kelly Block asked Jacques, “If the government continues on its current spending levels, when do you project the budget to be balanced?” In response, Jacques laughed and asked if it was a trick question. It’s no laughing matter when balancing the budget has become a bad joke.

“On our end, we’re hoping—and certainly expecting—that the government, as part of Budget 2025, clearly indicate what it plans to do to address this problem, because it’s certainly not sustainable,” Jacques said, repeating his key word once again.

It was both rare and refreshing to hear the PBO’s honesty regarding the seriousness of the situation. The Prime Minister has said the budget will be the most transformative since 1945, but will it address out-of-control spending? You never know… once in a blue moon, something very, very rare may happen.