Canada's First Budget In 2 Years Road To Stagflation, Pre-Election Vote Buying- Politician

TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st April, 2021) The Trudeau government's first budget in more than two years is a precursor to long-term stagflation and an attempt to woo potential voters ahead of a possible national election, People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier told Sputnik.

On Monday, Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered the country's first budget since March 19, 2019, in which she revealed that the budget deficit stands at a record $282.67 billion amid massive spending in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Bernier predicted that in the short-term the government will encourage Canadians to rely on social programs, rather than seeking employment, while Federal authorities continue to print money to fund the deficits and monopolize resources.

"In the longer term, it will inevitably lead to less productivity and less economic growth, and more inflation, i.e, stagflation," Bernier said on Tuesday.

Stagflation, the portmanteau of stagnation and inflation, is an economic condition characterized by slow economic growth and high unemployment levels coinciding with rising inflation. Stagflation is usually the result of excess monetary stimulus.

The document also revealed that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intends to keep government debt above 100 percent of the Canadian economy for the foreseeable future and that the federal debt-to-GDP ratio will remain above 50 percent until 2025-26.

While the government said that it is committed to reducing federal debt as a share of the economy, it did not provide a number that would serve as a "fiscal anchor," a point that drew condemnation from official opposition leader Erin O'Toole.

The budget included a number of big-ticket spending items, including an allotted $80.93 billion over the next three years toward recovery from the economic devastation inflicted upon the country the coronavirus pandemic.

The stimulus package includes funding towards a child-care program, extending the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) - a $1,400 monthly benefit for workers affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic - and establishing a $11.97 federal minimum wage.

Bernier believes the budget is tailored to be a pre-election platform designed to woo potential voters.

"Of course. The government is spending billions of Dollars on various electoral clienteles to buy votes," Bernier said, responding to a question of whether the document presented on Monday was a pre-election budget.

In the ensuing analysis of the document, numerous pundits noted that the budget contains incentives for a vast array of Canadians, with one prominent state tv host calling it "a budget that leaves no voters behind."

However, despite O'Toole, who wields control over the largest opposition caucus in Canada's history, calling the financial plan an "election budget" and a "massive letdown," New Democrat Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh said ahead of the presentation that his party would not trigger an election, suggesting support for the document.

Support from 24 NDP parliamentarians would be enough for the budget to be signed into law, and Singh has previously supported the minority Liberal in matters of confidence.

Bernier summarized the plan, saying that it will set new records for spending, encroach on provincial jurisdictions and is a precursor to a "socialist economy" in Canada.

Canada's two most represented opposition parties in the House of Commons - the Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois - will now propose amendments and sub-amendments to the document after which parliament will vote to pass the budget or trigger a federal election.