Budget may not be balanced before end of first term: Trudeau

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is backing away from a central Liberal election vow to return the public books to balance before the end of this mandate.
Trudeau also tells Montreal’s La Presse newspaper that, due to the weakening economy, the government’s upcoming 2016-17 budget plan will show a deficit larger than the Liberals’ promised $10 billion shortfall cap.
He says officials still don’t have a figure on the size of the projected deficit.
Moving forward, Trudeau says if the economy continues to deteriorate it will be difficult for the Liberals to live up to their pledge to return to balance in 2019-20.
Just two months ago, Trudeau said making good on that key balanced-budget promise was cast in stone.
The Liberals have promised to run deficits in the coming years to let them spend billions on projects like infrastructure, which they predict will create jobs and generate economic growth.
Trudeau does say the Liberal government still intends to fulfil its other, more-flexible, fiscal anchor to lower the debt-to-GDP ratio in every year of its mandate.

Comments

comments