PM and cabinet owe $2.7 million under proposed balanced budget bill

The Official Opposition is calling on Stephen Harper to put his money where his mouth is regarding his government’s proposed balanced budget legislation. Conservatives have added more to Canada’s debt than any other previous government and should therefore reimburse 5% of their ministerial salaries for each of the seven years their government ran deficits.

“We’re still skeptical about their true intentions, but take them at their word – if they truly believe in this legislation let’s see them apply it retroactively to their own fiscal record,” said NDP Treasury Board critic Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac).

Last week, Finance Minister Joe Oliver announced the government’s intention to introduce balanced budget legislation. Under the new legislation, cabinet ministers would take a 5% pay cut in the event of a budget deficit.

According to NDP calculations, this means that the current Conservative cabinet owes taxpayers 1.7 million dollars. Add another $900,000 from Conservative ministers who have left office since 2006.

“The Prime Minister must set an example if he wants to be taken seriously. He’s the one who cut taxes for big businesses and registered a record deficit of $56 billion in 2009-2010. This is a great opportunity for him to make up for his mismanagement. Mr. Harper, you owe us almost $100,000.”