Ottawa posts $2.3 billion deficit of August, according to monthly fiscal monitor

[mentalfloss]

Ottawa posts $2.3 billion deficit of August, according to monthly fiscal monitor

OTTAWA - The federal government saw its surplus for this fiscal year cut nearly in half as it ran a $2.3-billion deficit in August, according to the Finance Department's monthly fiscal monitor.

The result for August compared with a deficit of roughly $300 million in the same month last year.

Ottawa's surplus for the April-to-August period stood at $2.8 billion compared with a deficit of $1.1 billion for the same five-month period last year.

The update to the government's fiscal position comes as Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau prepares to be sworn in as prime minister next week.

The Liberals won the federal election earlier this month with a campaign promise to run deficits to fund billions in infrastructure spending.

The spring federal budget had forecast a surplus of $1.4 billion for the current fiscal year, but the economy has grown at a slower pace than expected, raising concerns Ottawa will fall short of that mark.

Ottawa posts $2.3 billion deficit of August, according to monthly fiscal monitor | National Newswatch

 

[DaSleeper]

Another?

 

[Walter]

So we're in surplus.

 

[mentalfloss]

Because of selling GM shares?

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

So what is Justin going to do to fix this?

 

[mentalfloss]

Whatever Harper didn't.

 

[damngrumpy]

To be fair here it depends as much on who reads the words as to what the numbers
in this case say. Every government in the history of democracy always puts the most
negative light on the last guys financial numbers and this is no different. It does two
things first it allows one to say can't do some of the things we wanted to deficit you
know. Secondly it allows the new government to say we fixed it aren't we wonderful.
No I didn't like Harper and I thought his policies were not in keeping with what most
Canadians wanted the election proved that but we also have to be fair in saying what
were the circumstances that created the problem.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Whatever Harper didn't.

Seems to me he said he was going to spend like a drunken sailor. Of course, he will no doubt conveniently use this alleged data to break a number of his promises. A time honoured trick in politics.

To be fair here it depends as much on who reads the words as to what the numbers
in this case say. Every government in the history of democracy always puts the most
negative light on the last guys financial numbers and this is no different. It does two
things first it allows one to say can't do some of the things we wanted to deficit you
know. Secondly it allows the new government to say we fixed it aren't we wonderful.
No I didn't like Harper and I thought his policies were not in keeping with what most
Canadians wanted the election proved that but we also have to be fair in saying what
were the circumstances that created the problem.

Exactly.

There used to be an old joke. I will use Harper and Justin in it but can be any 2 PMs changing office.

Justin walks into Harper's office as he was packing up. Harper says let me give you 3 cards to help you. Open them when you get into trouble. Well some time into his term, Justin faces a crisis. He opens the first card. It says go into the commons and blame me for everything. So Justin does this. He blames Harper for all evils and the crisis is averted. Some more time goes by and he gets into another crisis. He is lost so he opens the 2nd card. It says again blame me for everything. Justin again goes before the house and does the same and the crisis is averted. Well some more time goes by and yet another crisis comes up. Desperate again, he opens the 3rd card. On it was written "Prepare 3 cards".

 

[captain morgan]

So what is Justin going to do to fix this?

Blame some else of course

Whatever Harper didn't.

Yep.. There it is.

Looks like it's gonna be a ....

 

[Walter]

So we're in a surplus.

 

[AnnaG]

Ack!! Deficit? Ack!! Mr. PM, you better do like the master and yank the rugs out from under the provinces, cut more seniors' programs, kill any hopes that students may have of ever being out of debt, award a few rich buddies with cushy jobs and contracts, etc.

 

[PoliticalNick]

Lets face it folks....until there is a constitutional amendment barring any govt (fed, prov, muni) from running a deficit they all will continue to spend at will and push us further into debt. We also need an amendment barring them from borrowing from the private bankers and requiring them to restore the BOC to what it is meant to be. Without those 2 things happening you can count on perpetual deficits and handing our children and grandchildren trillions of dollars in debt.