Hon. Yonah Martin (Deputy Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the government leader in the Senate. Shortly after Minister Freeland delivered a budget full of inflationary spending, the inflation rate went up again. In its April report, Statistics Canada said Canadians paid over 28% more in mortgage interest costs that month, year over year. The International Monetary Fund, IMF, says Canada has the highest risk of mortgage defaults among advanced economies. This warning was delivered before the Bank of Canada raised the benchmark rate again, to 4.75%.

On Tuesday, our banking regulator told the banks to put aside more money in their “rainy-day funds” to cover defaults amid high household debt and high interest rates.

Leader, why doesn’t the Trudeau government recognize that spending fuels higher inflation and interest rates, which are sending mortgage payments sky-high?