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Wednesday February 2, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 2, 2022

Pierre Poilievre sounding like the next CPC leader

January 28, 2022

If you were just waking from a long pandemic nap and you turned on the television and saw Pierre Poilievre in action, you might conclude that he was the guy who’s in charge of the Conservative Party of Canada, the guy who wants to be the next prime minister.

Here was Poilievre on Twitter declaring a grocery store crisis: “If you walk into a store and you see empty shelves, thank Justin Trudeau. His … vaccine vendetta against our hard-working truckers is going to drive up the cost for our people, drive people out of work, and leave us with empty shelves.”

Or Poilievre mocking the prime minister almost every day during question period about inflation, and coining the clever hashtag #JustinFlation. His persistent needling of Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland must surely get under their skin.

Monday January 26, 2009

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday January 26, 2009

Government will run $34B deficit

The federal government will run a $34-billion deficit in the coming fiscal year, and a $30-billion deficit in the following year, a senior government official said.

The spokesman said Thursday that the federal government will return to running a surplus within five years.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is due to present a new budget on Jan. 27.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told reporters the government decided to announce the size of the deficits now because of intense speculation about the budget.

The release of the budget details is, nevertheless, an extraordinary step. The secrecy around federal budget planning is legendary.

By releasing the size and nature of the deficits ahead of the federal budget, the government might be hoping to soften the impact of the deficit blow.

The size of the deficit is largely attributable to the Conservative government’s decision to include billions in stimulus spending beginning in this year’s budget. That includes immediate spending on infrastructure and help for Canadians hit hardest by the economic downturn. (Source: CBC News)