Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. That inflation has risen in the last report is true. It is also true that inflation is down significantly from the level of 8.1% in July of 2022 to its current level. The most recent bump in inflation, if I understand it correctly and if the analysts are correct, is due to global oil prices that are independent of any government policy in this country or elsewhere.

With regard to your larger question about the government’s economic performance, there are approximately 950,000 more Canadians employed now than there were before the pandemic. Our credit rating is strong. We have the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the G7.

I could continue, but you’ve heard this all from me before, as you have heard the same litany of statements from the opposition in this chamber.

The government is doing a good job of managing our economy through very challenging times.

Hon. Leo Housakos: Senator Gold, in your answer to Senator Plett just a second ago, you acknowledged finally that things are not great, but things are not just not great. Things are in a state of catastrophe right now, yet we had our Minister of Finance at the beginning of the summer doing this massive victory lap, stating that “Canada’s plan to bring down inflation is working.” She said it was a “milestone moment,” and went on to say:

I really want to thank Canadians, it has been a really tough time economically since COVID first hit ... and this is a really good moment ... It has been a real struggle for Canadians and the Canadian economy to get back down to 2.8%, and I am really grateful to everyone who has ... (stayed) the course.

“Inflation in Canada has come down!” she claimed with excitement.

I don’t know what planet Minister Freeland and Prime Minister Trudeau live on, because inflation right now is at the highest level it has been in 35 years. We just got the figures out for the month of August, and inflation is well into 4%. All economists are claiming it will continue to grow until the end of the year, and they suspect we will have more rate hikes by the Bank of Canada. And we’ve had, by the way, 10 bank rate hikes since March of 2022, which is pummelling working-class Canadians.

The question is simple: Will you finally acknowledge as a government that the Freeland-Trudeau economics of more debt and more deficit are not working and are leading to record-high inflation, and will you commit to finally putting in place a fiscal anchor, which we so desperately need?