Kevin Page: Mulcair’s “Swiss-cheese fiscal costing”

September 18, 2015

Experts slam Mulcair’s “fantasy” costing – NDP numbers don’t add 

REGINA, SK – Leading experts Kevin Page and Scott Clark are slamming Thomas Mulcair’s “fantasy” fiscal costing. 

“Former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page said he was disappointed with the party’s thin financial document and use of Conservative finance minister Joe Oliver’s budget as a benchmark. ‘Why give Mr. Oliver that kind of credibility?’ Page asked. ‘They are now in a debate and [the NDP] can’t really say that is not a credible forecast. They used it.’”

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“They could have done better,” Page told HuffPost. The NDP’s plan has “potential sustainability problems over the medium term,” and isn’t very prudent or transparent. “They’ve exposed [Mulcair] because this is a Swiss-cheese fiscal costing platform,” he said.

(Kevin Page, former Parliamentary Budget Officer, Huffington Post, September 17, 2015)

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“If you believe that last April’s budget is out of date because oil prices are much lower and economic growth is much lower, then this is all fantasy.”

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“If [Mulcair’s] going to assume an old forecast he has to be able to defend that… he’s fudging the books, to say it mildly, [he’s] choosing a forecast that helps him out.”

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“The bottom line is it doesn’t balance.”  

(Scott Clark, former Deputy Minister of Finance, Huffington Post, September 17, 2015)

“These are glaring errors in Thomas Mulcair’s costing. It means he can’t possibly deliver on his promises,” said Liberal candidate for Regina–Wascana and former Finance Minister, Ralph Goodale. “Thomas Mulcair is doing the same old political thing: promise a bunch of things you know you can’t do. Then after you get elected, say things are much worse than you thought and you can’t do what you promised. It’s dishonest.”

“Even before these new mistakes were identified, Mulcair delayed and underfunded his signature promises like infrastructure, transit, and child care. Now with the holes in his costing, the NDP’s empty promises are even more dubious. The middle class and our economy won’t get the help they need for four or eight years from now,” said Mr. Goodale.

“Canadians have a clear choice in this election between the Liberal Party’s plan for smart investments that create jobs and growth urgently, or Harper’s and Mulcair’s cuts that will weaken our economy even further,” concluded Mr. Goodale.