Carney addresses local leaders from across Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a speech at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities annual conference and trade show in Ottawa.
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Toronto Sun
29 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Carney's hocus-pocus plan to increase debt and balance the budget
Get the latest from Lorrie Goldstein straight to your inbox Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives for a press conference on Parliament Hill following the Cabinet Policy Forum, in Ottawa on May 21, 2025. Photo by DAVE CHAN / GETTY IMAGES Prime Minister Mark Carney's promise that his government will 'spend less and invest more' is the same sort of fiscal flimflammery as Justin Trudeau's claim in 2014 that as prime minister he would grow the economy and 'the budget will balance itself.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The budget never balanced itself under Trudeau, even before the pandemic hit in 2020. His 2015 election pledge of three years of 'modest deficits' in 2016, 2017 and 2018 followed by a balanced budget in 2019, turned out to be a myth. As for Carney's pledge to 'spend less and invest more' respected University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe, writing in The Hub, noted that 'Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed Carney's proposal as 'cooking the books' and history justifies the skepticism.' Carney dismissed that criticism by suggesting he has more experience than Tombe as an economist and economic manager. Jake Fuss, director of fiscal studies for the Fraser Institute, called Carney's pledge 'creative accounting' because 'Mr. Carney's math doesn't add up.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In fact, Carney is planning to spend more and borrow more than the Trudeau government. This while abandoning the 'fiscal guardrails' that former federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland said were important to maintain the integrity of federal finances, at least prior to her resigning when she said the Trudeau government had abandoned them. Freeland is now minister of transport and internal trade in Carney's cabinet, so perhaps she's changed her mind. So how is Carney going to make good on his promise to balance the budget in three years while spending more and increasing the debt? This apparent economic miracle will only be achievable because Carney is making a new distinction in government spending. He's separating the operating expenses of the federal government — the cost of daily operations, plus cash transfers to the provinces and benefit programs such as Old Age Security, $10-a-day daycare and dental care — from capital spending on infrastructure. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carney, who criticized Trudeau for driving up the operating costs of the government by an average of 9% annually, says he will reduce those increases to less than 2%. He will then invest more money, financed by more public debt, in fast-tracked, nation-building infrastructure projects such as housing construction, making Canada a clean energy superpower and other initiatives designed to bolster our economy and make it less reliant on the U.S. The problem with redefining debt is that it's still debt for the people who have to pay it back with interest — taxpayers. As Tombe, put it, 'Carney's financial sleight of hand will not actually balance the budget.' Carney's election campaign platform outlined $130 billion in new spending over four years with total deficit spending of $224.8 billion. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That's 71% higher than the $131.4 billion in deficit spending the Trudeau government predicted during the same period in its fall economic statement last December, although had Trudeau decided to run again his election promises would have increased his projected deficits. Read More To be sure, if will be a positive step if Carney can significantly reduce the operating costs of the government, a major component of which is the cost of the federal public service. But it will also be interesting to see how he will achieve this, given that his intention, aside from making use of Artificial Intelligence, is to cap the size of the public service at its current level of approximately 357,965 people. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That's an increase of more than 100,000 civil servants — almost 40% — compared to when Trudeau took office in 2015. Carney's promises also depend, according to his campaign platform, on achieving $28 billion in savings from 'increased government productivity', $3.75 billion from 'increasing fines and penalties' and $20 billion from revenue generated by Canada's counter-tariffs in its trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. Some economists agree with Carney that redefining public debt into operating and capital spending components will make it more transparent, but others warn the temptation will be to redefine operational expenses as capital investments, in order to meet Carney's promise of a balanced operating budget in three years. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What the Carney government intends to classify as operational expenses versus capital investments won't be known until the Liberals unveil their budget in the fall. That said, capital spending to fund infrastructure in tough economic times to boost the economy is hardly a new concept. Done competently, it can work as planned, in the same way a homeowner taking out a mortgage to buy a home can increase the family's equity, provided he or she can meet the mortgage payments. The key word is competently. One of many examples of previous capital investments by governments in concert with the private sector turning into financial disasters are Light Rail Transit projects in cities such as Toronto and Ottawa, funded by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Meanwhile, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux reported last year that the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments have earmarked up to $52.5 billion — 60% paid by the feds, 40% by the provinces — for 13 projects intended to create an electric vehicle and EV battery industry in Canada. That's $6.3 billion or 14% more than the $46.1 billion the industry plans to invest in these projects, with many companies now cutting back or delaying production due to slow EV sales. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Ontario Columnists Sunshine Girls
CBC
37 minutes ago
- CBC
Sask. premier, public safety officials to provide update as wildfires continue to rage
Premier Scott Moe will join officials from the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) to speak to media at 1 p.m. CST Saturday on the current wildfire situation. Saskatchewan continues to experience one of its worst starts to the wildfire season on record. More than 533,000 hectares have burned in wildfires across the province so far this year. State of emergency declared in Sturgeon Landing The Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has declared a state of emergency for the community of Sturgeon Landing due to wildfires. It's issuing a mandatory evacuation order because of heavy smoke from a wildfire burning in Manitoba and the increasing threat to road access in and out of the area. The First Nation says all community members must evacuate immediately. It says evacuees must meet at the Wanless Store, which will serve as the staging area. From there, it says, a convoy will travel to The Pas with support from emergency personnel to ensure a safe evacuation. If anyone is evacuating by private vehicle, they are urged to follow the convoy and not travel alone. Wildfire smoke is also affecting other communities in the province, with air quality warnings in place for areas including Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Estevan. The province's largest fire, the Shoe fire, has burned 305,000 hectares which is about 13 times the size of Saskatoon. Smoke from that fire has been threatening communities, including the resort village of Candle Lake. The community experienced thick smoke over the last few days, but according to their latest update, the fire is "moving more slowly toward Candle Lake." "However, wind and weather conditions can change quickly, and our pre-alert evacuation and voluntary evacuation notices remain in effect," according to the update at 10 a.m. Friday. Prince Albert National Park limits access Parks Canada has issued a closure for areas within Prince Albert National Park due to the wildfires. It's restricting all backcountry areas in the National Park, Kingsmere Road west of Narrows Peninsula Trail. Elk Trail and the Valleyview network of trails, excluding the Valley View easy and moderate trails. All of Crean Lake, including Crean Kitchen campground and day-use area, excluding Hanging Heart Lakes. Visitors are being asked to respect the closures to reduce the risk of igniting new fires. Power remains out in northeastern Sask. communities. SaskPower said in an update that wildfire conditions are disrupting repair work for the outage in some northern communities. Crews have been forced to stop work in Deschambault Lake, Denare Beach, Pelican Narrows, Jan Lake, Creighton, and surrounding areas. As of Friday morning, crews had been unable to resume work in those regions safely. In La Ronge, Southend, Brabant Lake, and McLennan Lake, similar challenges are being reported. SaskPower said Friday that crews are en route to continue repairs to address the outage, but no estimated time of restoration is currently available due to the ongoing wildfire threat. Métis Nation–Saskatchewan declares state of emergency On Friday, the Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) also declared a state of emergency, joining the provincial government as more citizens are forced to flee their homes with little or no notice. "These wildfires are spreading so unpredictably, and citizens are being evacuated with little or no notice and no destination in place. They're leaving behind their homes and their livelihoods with little more than uncertainty ahead," MN–S President Glen McCallum said in a statement. The MN–S government said it has mounted response teams to assist in fire zones, is providing culturally grounded services where possible, and is co-ordinating with provincial and federal partners to ensure Métis citizens have access to support. Federal response to wildfires Saskatchewan is under a provincial state of emergency due to wildfires. That means the province can access more resources and call for support from different levels of the government. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal emergency preparedness minister, said in an interview with CBC News Network on Friday that Manitoba has called for a 'request for assistance' from the federal government, but Saskatchewan has not made a similar request yet. She said that the Royal Canadian Air Force is helping those remote communities in Manitoba evacuate to Winnipeg. "I did speak with my counterpart, my provincial counterpart Tim McLeod, this afternoon and he advised me that the situation in Saskatchewan is manageable at the present time," she said. "In the event that federal resources are required, we're absolutely prepared to step up and help," Olszewski said.
CBC
42 minutes ago
- CBC
Still no charges in Robert Pickton prison death a year after fatal assault
New B.C. serial killer died after an attack by another inmate in the Port-Cartier maximum security prison Image | Caption: Police found the remains or DNA of 33 women on Robert Pickton's Port Coquitlam, B.C., farm. A year after his death following a prison assault, prison justice advocates are asking for an inquiry into his death. (CBC) A year to the day after serial killer Robert Pickton died following an assault by another inmate in a Quebec prison, there have been no charges against the alleged assailant and few answers about what happened. Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, after being assaulted at the Port-Cartier maximum security prison 12 days prior. The 74-year-old was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. The Correctional Service of Canada first issued a release on May 20 last year about a "major assault" on an inmate, adding "the assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken." The agency later confirmed the injured inmate was Pickton, and that he had died. Quebec provincial police identified the suspect as a 51-year-old inmate, but did not release a name. WATCH | Pickton dies after fatal prison assault: Media | Serial killer Robert Pickton is dead Caption: Robert Pickton had been in hospital since May 19 after being the target of what Correctional Service Canada called a "major assault" at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec. The 74-year-old B.C. man had been found guilty of murdering six women in the Vancouver area, but had bragged about killing 49. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Earlier this week, the force said its investigation remained open. "Some expert reports are still ongoing. As this is an active file, we will not comment further," the Sûreté du Québec wrote in an email. By phone, a spokesperson said the police file had not yet been handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecutor's office, who will decide whether charges will be laid. Image | Robert Pickton court sketch Caption: This is a artist's drawing of Robert Pickton appearing on a video link to B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on May 25, 2005. Pickton was suspected of killing dozens of Indigenous women at his pig farm. (Jane Wolsack/The Canadian Press) Open Image in New Tab Spokesperson Audrey-Anne Bilodeau added police sometimes take more time to investigate when a suspect is already behind bars because there is no risk to the public. Correctional Service Canada said it expects to publish the results of investigations into the death "in the near future," spokesperson Kevin Antonucci wrote in an email. "Time was required to ensure that they were fully translated and vetted in accordance with the Privacy Act." Calls for public inquiry Advocates for prisoners' rights expressed concern about the lack of answers about what happened and said the death raises questions about inmate security. "We're concerned about a number of deaths have occurred at the hands of other prisoners without any clear answers," Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society said in a phone interview. Latimer cited a fatality report published earlier this year by Alberta Justice Donna Groves into the death of a 21-year-old inmate who was knifed to death inside his cell by another inmate at the Edmonton Institution in 2011. The report raised a number of questions, including why the two inmates were allowed out of their cells at the same time despite belonging to rival gangs and being under orders not to be around other inmates. Groves called for a public inquiry into the death, saying it's the only way to get to the bottom of three guards' actions that day, including concerns they were running a prison "fight club." Latimer said the report shows there is a serious problem with "incompatible or vulnerable prisoners" being exposed to others who want to kill them. "Pickton really raises that," she said. Pickton, she added, would likely have been considered "vulnerable" because the nature of his offences would have made him a potential target. Prison deaths tough to investigate Howard Sapers, who spent 12 years as Correctional Investigator of Canada, said sudden prison deaths – particularly criminal ones – are often long and tough to investigate. "There are difficulties in terms of accessing crime scenes, preserving crime scenes, obtaining witness statements, so all of those things tend to frustrate investigations," he said. He added such investigations are often not a priority – at least in terms of speed – due to a lack of generalized public safety risk. He said federal investigators probing Pickton's death will be looking at whether protocol and policy was followed in areas such as contraband and weapons, underground trade in weapons and drugs, gang conflicts and known threats against an individual. Tom Engel, the former president of the Canadian Prison Law Association, agreed that Pickton's reputation would have meant he was at high risk of being assaulted by other inmates. "The question has to be asked, 'Well, how could this happen when he's at high risk?'" he said in a phone interview. LISTEN | Questions over prison safety: Media | Breakaway : Is Canada's federal prison system safe for all inmates? Caption: The assault on serial killer Robert Pickton at the Port Cartier prison is raising questions about the safety of inmates within federal prisons. Alison speaks with Senator Kim Pate, who says she is very concerned about the lack of respect for human rights towards those who are sentences in our country. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Engel said he wasn't surprised by the lack of charges so far. He said investigations can be lengthy, in part because correctional staff and inmates can be reluctant to fully co-operate with police. The announcement of Pickton's death last year was met with public expressions of satisfaction and joy rather than concern. Families of victims used words such as "healing," "overjoyed" and "justice" to describe the death of a man who preyed upon vulnerable women in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, many of them Indigenous. But Engel believes the fate of prison inmates should be a concern. "Members of the public who believe in human rights, who believe in the rule of law, who believe that the Criminal Code of Canada applies to everybody should care about this, because you can't have this kind of lawlessness going on in a prison," he said. Sapers noted prisons can be dangerous for both inmates and correctional staff. And he said many of the solutions, which include more investment in staffing, training, prison infrastructure and programming to meaningfully occupy prisoners, benefit both groups. "Often people don't make the link to safe environments for people who are in custody are also safe environments for people who have to work there, and I think it's a really important point to make," he said.
