Writing for nationalnewswatch.com, K.W. Grafton provides alarming information about Bill C-14, An
Act to implement certain provisions of the economic statement tabled in
Parliament on November 30, 2020 and other measures. The
bill has passed second reading and has been sent to the Standing
Committee on Finance, with the most recent discussion in the committee
occurring March 11.
The information provided by Grafton is one more example of how
governments are concentrating more and more power in their hands to act
with impunity. What is hidden is that this borrowing is a huge scam to
pay the rich because the borrowing is from private lenders who reap an
ill-gotten fortune guaranteed by the government of
Canada.
Bill C-14 was introduced into parliament on December 2, 2020 by
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland with the
Liberal government's Fall Economic Statement 2020. It is designed to
allow the government to continue operating without having to table a
budget which has not happened since March 19, 2019.
Grafton explains that, in part, the bill deals with federal borrowing.
"The summary states, 'Part 7 amends the Borrowing Authority Act to,
among other things, increase the maximum amount of certain borrowings
and include certain borrowings that were previously excluded in the
calculation of that amount. It also makes a related amendment to the Financial Administration Act.'
"Those 'borrowings' were the subject of discussion during the
'Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2021 Budget' held by the
Standing Committee on Finance in January, whereby it became known that
Freeland intended to increase government borrowing authority to $1.8
trillion -- more than Canada's $1.71 trillion GDP in 2020,"
Grafton explains.
Saying that the devil is in the details, Grafton explains that the details are in Part 7 of the bill.
"Part 7 Borrowing Authority Act
includes amendments to the Act that increases the total amount of
borrowing by the Minister of Finance from $1,168,000,000,000 to
$1,831,000,000,000."
Grafton continues:
"Then, there is a qualifier.
"It also includes the following amendment, '6. The Minister may
borrow an amount under an order made under paragraph 46.1(a) or (b) of
the Financial Administration Act even if that borrowing causes the maximum amount referred to in section 4 of this Act to be exceeded.'
"Paragraph 46.1 of the Financial Administration Act reads, 'In any fiscal year, the Governor in Council may by order authorize the Minister to borrow money for
(a) the payment of any amount that is
required to be paid in that fiscal year in respect of any money
borrowed under the authority of this Act or any other Act of
Parliament;
(b) the
extinguishment or reduction of any liability of Canada, if the Minister
is of the opinion that the liability should be extinguished or reduced;
or... '
"Therefore, although the borrowing limit is set at $1.8 trillion,
the minister can ignore that limit and borrow more say $2 trillion $3
trillion $10 trillion -- there is no real limit, beyond the market
realities of Canada's diminishing credit rating.
"The wording of Paragraph 46.1 also permits the government to borrow
any amount to pay back debt. This will come in handy when the current
short-term low interest COVID-debt comes due and must be refinanced (at
what will almost certainly be higher interest rates). The taxpayers
will be borrowing high-interest money to pay off existing
low-interest debts."
Grafton points out that "the proposed ceiling of $1.8 trillion will
raise Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio to 105.26 per cent." He says that
according to the World Bank, countries with debt-to-GDP ratios above 77
per cent for prolonged periods suffer significant reductions in
economic growth.
"Since Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio is forecast to stay above 100 per
cent through 2025, and 75 per cent of borrowing to date has been
short-term (4 years or less), most of this will have to be refinanced
at higher rates during a time of stagnant or reduced economic growth.
"Canada will be looking for money under less than optimum
conditions; forced to borrow, poor economic growth, high debt to GDP
ratio, and diminished credit rating."
This article was published in
Number 17 - March 15, 2021
Article Link:
Liberal Pay the Rich Scam to Increase Borrowing from Private Lenders
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca