Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The government’s Fall Economic Statement and its management of the economy are proving to be sound and responsible. Federal spending dropped 21.6% between 2020-21 and 2021-22. I understand the most recent job numbers released by Statistics Canada show that our labour market gained over 100,000 jobs in October, with an unemployment rate of 5.2% below pre-pandemic levels. Our rate of real GDP growth remains at 2.3% — above its pre-pandemic level back in the fourth quarter of 2019. Our growth remains strong. S&P recently reaffirmed our AAA rating with a stable outlook, and this further highlights Canada’s responsible fiscal framework.

In addition, I note that in the recent update of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or PBO, it states:

For the current fiscal year 2022-23, PBO projects the deficit to decline to $25.8 billion (0.9 per cent of GDP) under status quo policy.

It goes on, “. . . the budgetary deficit is projected to decline further, reaching $3.1 billion (0.1 per cent of GDP) in 2027-28 . . . .”

Canada came into the pandemic with the lowest net debt‑to‑GDP ratio in the G7, and we’ve increased our relative advantage throughout this period.