A new report into Ottawa’s spending by the Parliamentary Budget Office suggests that economist Milton Friedman was not wrong when he said there is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.
The PBO said the government is seeking budgetary authorities for $379.9 billion this fiscal year to date. That is 28 percent higher in real 2021 dollars than the federal government sought a decade ago and 16 percent more than the year before COVID hit. (The Estimates do not cover costs related to the wage and rent subsidies, the Canada Child Benefit, tax expenditures or Employment Insurance, for which Parliament does not authorize annual spending.)
We will get a much clearer view of the government’s total spending when Chrystia Freeland tables her fall fiscal update next week. (As an aside, we should treat its projections with caution – the PBO report reveals that the last fiscal update forecast COVID recovery benefits would cost $10.3 billion this year; the reality will be closer to $18 billion.)
But it is already apparent that the Liberals have used the pandemic as an opportunity to expand the reach of government.
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