The timing couldn’t be worse, but the resignation of federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau was needed, and the government is going to have to ensure the things that are needed will still be provided to Canadians.
The reason this is especially bad timing is Canada (and the world) is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis involving health care and the economy, precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Canada is reeling from the huge impact of this pandemic, including a devastating two-month lockdown that cost this economy a huge amount, not to mention the loss of jobs and businesses, a stable government with a firm hand on the financial rudder is what’s needed.
Thus the resignation of the man in charge of the money couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Unfortunately, Morneau and his boss, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, were the authors of their own demise, as both of these leaders were inexcusably embroiled in the WE charity scandal.
Many pundits have rushed forward to point out that wasn’t the only reason for Morneau to step down, and this is true — but the scandal was a major contributing factor, as Morneau (like Trudeau) did not recuse himself in voting on handing WE a huge student employment grant.
This program has since died and left students across the country out in the cold during a time of pandemic, making a difficult time impossible for many as they try to earn money for college or university in the fall.
Trudeau should also be resigning in shame, but he likely won’t, as this would trigger a federal election during the pandemic, which would be the worst possible timing for a federal election ever, at a time when some provinces are also holding one (including Saskatchewan this fall).
While he doesn’t deserve his hold on power to remain, Trudeau needs to stabilize the government with a new finance minister, and with a plan of how the government is going to deal with the serious financial situation it now finds itself in.
The debt is projected to be in the order of $1.2 trillion, much of it caused by the spending during COVID to try and make sure the country doesn’t implode and the economy completely collapse, as it surely would have otherwise.
The problem here is, COVID is not going anywhere, contrary to the claims of the leader of the neighbouring country to the south, so we have to learn to live and work within the constriction of the virus.
We can’t just let everything collapse into anarchy. The economy has to go on, children have to be in school, jobs need to be secure, and there needs to be a plan on the part of the federal government on how all of this is supposed to be paid for.
