Harper platform shows Conservatives have doubled-down on obsolete numbers

October 10, 2015

OTTAWA – The Conservatives have doubled-down on their outdated numbers. In their platform released yesterday, they indicate that “[o]ur plan is based on the fiscal projections in the 2015 Budget presented in April” (page 12).

 We beg to differ, and we are not the only ones.

 The Harper Conservatives are once again disregarding the facts, pretending that the economy has not deteriorated over the last six months and that we are not in a recession. They chose to completely ignore the Bank of Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the OECD, the International Monetary Fund, and several private-sector economists who have revised Canada’s 2015 GDP growth numbers down from two percent to one percent.

 “I think the interesting thing with the Conservative platform is they are basically saying: let’s take the numbers from the last budget and assume the last six months didn’t happen. So they give themselves a $4 billion head start compared to the other guys.” (Sahir Khan, former Assistant Parliamentary Budget Officer, CTV Power Play, October 9, 2015)

 “It is surprising that as the campaign draws to a close, the Conservative Party is repeating the NDP’s and Greens’ mistake and is putting forward a platform that’s based on obsolete economic projections… Economic reality will force a re-elected Conservative government to update its projections in November or to announce major budget cuts.” [Translation] (Gérald Fillion, ICI Radio-Canada, October 9, 2015)

“They write that ‘Our plan is based on the fiscal projections in the 2015 Budget presented in April. These projections were based on independent, expert advice from Canada’s leading private-sector economists.’ Yet those same experts have since revised their projections, and they’re ignoring them.” [Translation] (Jean-Pierre Aubry, economist and associate fellow with the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations, ICI Radio-Canada, October 10, 2015)

 Liberals are the only party to offer a real plan that is fiscally prudent, transparent, and focused on making a real, positive difference in the lives of all Canadians. We will invest to create jobs, grow the middle class, and help those working hard to join the middle class.

 On October 19, let’s choose real change.