Senators up in arms after passing new spending bill they hadn’t read
Bill C-67 proposed billions in new spending to cover federal expenses to the end of fiscal year 2023/24. It quickly passed the Commons in eight minutes late last week, and the Senate only had an hour to review the bill before putting it to a vote
Senators are livid after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland asked the Upper Chamber to pass a budget they hadn’t read.
Bill C-67, An Act For Granting To His Majesty Certain Sums Of Money, proposed billions in new spending to cover federal expenses to the end of fiscal year 2023/24, which ended Sunday evening.
Spending included $3.2 billion to cover federal debt interest charges, $2.2 billion for national defence, and $1.2 billion to cover pay increases for federal employees.
Senate managers sought approval to spend another $8.9 billion without disclosing the legal text of the bill, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.
“You need the bill to vote on it,” said Senator Elizabeth Marshall, a former provincial auditor.
“I haven’t seen the bill,” she said. “It’s not posted. I don’t know how we can vote on a bill that we haven’t seen.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland faced incredible pushback from the Finance Committee after she failed to attend numerous meetings on Budget 2023. She pushed back and called the opposition 'filibuster' an act of "bullying."
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— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) May 24, 2023
On Thursday, Bill C-67 quickly passed the Commons in eight minutes. The Senate only had an hour to review the bill before putting it to a vote.
The following day, the feds recorded a budgetary deficit of $25.7 billion for the fiscal year. Department of Finance data reflects spending until the end of January, reported The Canadian Press.
Freeland earlier pledged to commit to fiscal guardrails to cap deficit spending at $40 billion for the current fiscal year.
Jack’s Note: Chrystia Freeland is (and always has been) a political disaster. It’s time for her to retire.
