NEWS RELEASE  

February 23, 1994   For Immediate Release 

BREITKREUZ WORRIED ABOUT "CREEPING DEBT" CRISIS  

"The more I review the numbers in the government's budget the more depressed I get," says Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville. "The Minister of Finance announced that Canadian people will go another $39.7 billion into the "Debt Hole" next year - I find little comfort in this nor do I think it offers beleaguered taxpayers much hope for the future." "What worries me most," says Breitkreuz, "is the creeping debt." He explained, "This budget is no different than the budgets introduced over the last twenty-five years: government spending exceeds revenues, the deficits keep getting bigger, our national debt keeps going up and up, the amount we borrow from foreign lenders continues to grow and the interest we pay on the debt keeps rising - making it even more difficult to finance the programs we really need. Whether it is a Trudeau government, a Mulroney government or a Chretien government, it doesn't make any real difference. Families cannot live beyond their means and neither can governments. How long will it take before we hit the same "wall" that New Zealand hit in 1984 when that country was refused credit?" Breitkreuz asked. 

"I wish I could say I am hopeful, but I'm not," Garry said. He made the following observations about the Liberal's first budget: 

• The government is not on track to achieve its deficit target of 3% of GDP in three years. 
• Despite the cuts that have been announced - there has been no decrease in spending - spending is projected to increase by $800 million dollars next year. 
• If Canadian voters had been given a choice where they would like spending cuts to be made, they would have suggested that the almost $4 billion in grants, handouts and tax concessions to private corporations should be the first to go. 
• The government could have also cut out entire programs and departments that the majority of Canadians agree we do not need, such as bilingualism and multiculturalism. 
• While some improvements were made to Unemployment Insurance, the government is still "tinkering" rather than returning it to a true insurance program, and, 
• The government has initiated 18 new programs and 15 new studies which will create higher expectations and demands for new spending programs. 

To put the annual budget deficit into more personal terms Garry offered this analysis: "Next year the government will borrow $39.7 billion on our behalf. This means that every man, woman and child in Canada has authorized the government to borrow $1,454.37 next year, bringing their personal share of the national debt to $20,149.47. This is real debt which must be paid back with real money by this generation and future generations," warned Breitkreuz. 

"The Conservative Government made a major mistake by not taking steps to balance the budget in the first part of their mandate and the Liberal Government is making the same error. I only hope there is an economy left to salvage by the time voters get another chance to vote for a government that can balance the budget, lower taxes, create real jobs and implement real reform," Breitkreuz concluded. 

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For more information please call: 

Ottawa: (613) 992-4394 

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309