Ottawa, March 22, 2017 – MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton) issued the following statement in response to the Liberal government’s budget 2017:
“This Liberal budget is a major let down for Canadians. The Liberals have doubled-down on a failed fiscal policy that has burdened future generations with a mountain of new debt, while failing to grow the economy and create jobs.
This budget contains significant tax increases on hard-working Canadians to pay for the Liberal’s out-of-control spending. This is on top of other Liberal tax increases that are nickeland-diming ordinary Canadians.
The budget does nothing to get spending under control. For the second year in a row, the Liberals have broken their promise to keep deficit spending under $10-billion and to balance the budget by 2019. Instead, the Liberals have delivered a shocking $28.5 billion deficit, with no end in sight to the red-ink. The Liberals will add more than $100 billion in debt by 2021.
To top it off, the Liberals have increased spending to unprecedented levels with nothing to show for it. The combination of tax hikes, massive new spending, and massive deficits is a policy of fiscal vandalism.
For Alberta this budget does absolutely nothing to help get back to work the more than 100,000 Albertans who have lost their jobs since the Liberals came to office.
The budget does nothing to get infrastructure projects for Edmonton moving. While Edmonton is represented by the Infrastructure Minister, construction has started on zero of the infrastructure projects announced by the Liberals. The Liberals and Minister Sohi talk a good game about infrastructure, but when it comes to actually building infrastructure for Edmonton, they have been AWOL.
Budget 2017 solidifies the Liberal legacy of more spending, more taxes, more debt, and more broken promises. I, along with my Conservative colleagues, will continue to be the voice of the taxpayer by standing-up against this fiscal train-wreck of a budget.”
For further information, media may contact:
Dane Lloyd, Parliamentary Assistant
Michael.Cooper@parl.gc.ca
Tel: 613-996-4723
