Opinion: Canadians deserve more clarity on Carney's cuts

Montreal Gazette

6 days ago

In another time, Prime Minister Mark Carney's talk of steep government spending cuts would be the talk of the town. But these aren't other times.
We now live in the age of Trump, and the U.S. president's trade war with the world is a story that is able to erase much of most other countries' domestic news agenda. And so it is with Canada and its need to reduce spending after years of Trudeau-era bloat.
Make no mistake; Carney's cuts are major news. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told his cabinet colleagues the government must cut operational spending by 7.5 per cent for the 2026-27 fiscal year, 10 per cent the following year and 15 per cent in 2028-29. Carney has already ruled out cuts to provincial transfers and pensions and other old-age supports.
The Liberal government has also ruled out cuts to programs like child care, pharmacare and dental care, while also committing to increased spending on defence. There is either a magic money tree in Carney's garden or pain on the way for Ottawa's army of public servants, as their salaries and benefits are a key part of 'operational spending.'
I'm old enough to remember the furor around the Harper government's proposed cuts to return to a balanced budget in the wake of the 2008-'09 financial crisis. Indeed, I was the man who had to answer the many media questions And so it's astonishing to see how little coverage is being generated by what will be, in absolute terms, much bigger cuts.
Of course, it helps that Trudeau grew the size of the federal public service so much that achieving a similar quantum to the Harper era would be child's play. Senior Liberals say they will achieve much of the reduction by eliminating vacant positions and 'reallocating' staff rather than giving public servants the boot. Unions like PSAC are skeptical about those promises, as well they should be.
Enter that other great media attention hog: artificial intelligence. Everyone is talking about AI, holding it up to be either a demon or a saviour. Carney and Evan Solomon, his new AI minister, are promising the latter, at least with respect to achieving efficiencies in program delivery without compromising service levels. But you should never trust anyone who says tough goals can be achieved without pain.
What's more, the kinds of improvements Canadians are looking for in their lives will not be achieved without a federal public service that's fit and firing on all cylinders. And so it is incumbent on Carney and his ministers to be as specific as they can on what is required, and what is surplus to requirements. It is not enough to hide behind the promise of technology and operational efficiencies.
And that's before we consider what happens if Trump ever actually gets on with doing his worst to Canada. Carney and the premiers have just concluded a meeting where Canada's efforts to secure a revised free-trade deal with the U.S. were the main subject of discussion. There wasn't much in the way of specifics, only more boilerplate about securing the best deal and seeking alternate markets should the U.S. close some of its doors to Canada.
If Canada is indeed hammered by Trump's tariffs, federal budgeting will become even more of a crapshoot. The Carney government is already being cagey about its plans for spending and when they might be tallied up and presented to Parliament for analysis. It must be forced into some precision. The opposition must do all it can to force the conversation, not obsess about more minor issues that might excite some corners of the internet.
In other words, the opposition should ignore the distractions and the fizz of Trump, the greatest media story on Earth. That is for the government to worry about. It is the opposition's job to worry about Canadians, and how the government can best serve their needs.