Morneau thinks feds 'probably' spent too much on COVID aid, 'worried' about 2023 recession
Former federal finance minister Bill Morneau says he thinks Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government he used to be a part of "probably" spent too much on COVID-19 stimulus. Now, he's "worried" about the potential for a recession this year.
In an exclusive interview with Â鶹´«Ã½' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos airing Sunday on her debut episode of CTV's Question Period at 11 a.m. ET, Morneau said that in hindsight, the amount of economic stimulus and COVID-19 aid the federal government poured into the Canadian economy during the worst of the global pandemic, may have been too much.
Morneau said that when you look around the world, Canada was one of the countries that "did a good job" when it came to supporting its citizens through the tumultuous time, but "was there too much? Probably."
"But getting it exactly right, that's tough. So I think now that we have the benefit of seeing what transpired, I think we need to be very cautious given that we know that the economic environment that we're facing is challenging," Morneau said.
According to a recent Auditor General report calling out eligibility verification shortcomings in the Liberals' rollout of COVID-19 financial programs, the Liberals spent an estimated $211 billion on COVID-19 aid.
The biggest ticket benefit programs were the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which paid out $100.7 billion to 460,000 businesses seeing 5.3 million employees kept on the payroll, and the Employment Insurance benefit which evolved into the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and saw $74.8 billion sent to 8.5 million Canadians.
Morneau's comments build on a perspective he expresses in his forthcoming and revealing new book 'Where To from Here: A Path to Canadian Prosperity' which delves into both his time in one of the top political positions in the country and what led him to resign in August 2020, as well as his views about the country's future economic potential.
While Morneau left the federal cabinet six months after the Liberals started rolling out billions of dollars in financial aid to Canadians and employers—amid tension with Trudeau over what he considers a difference of opinion over tapering off COVID-19 aid— during his time in the top fiscal position, Morneau did defend the federal government's economic approach.
"I think I need to be really clear, the response to COVID— the initial response— I think, was the right response," Morneau said in the interview. Other examples he gave of economic programs he thinks the government has gotten right are the Canada Child Benefit and expanding the Canada Pension Plan, while he thinks programs aimed at encouraging investment such as the Canada Infrastructure Bank weren't followed through on "as well as we could have."
"One of the challenges while I was there, and now, is having a focus on a few things that are going to make a big difference, rather than dealing with everything that comes your way on a day-to-day basis," Morneau told Kapelos. "And, you know, as someone who came from business, it's not a new challenge."
'I DO WORRY Â鶹´«Ã½ THE POTENTIAL FOR A RECESSION'
The former finance minister is not the first high-profile economic voice to suggest that Canada may have rolled more economic aid than prudent out the door, for too long. In September, Bank of Canada deputy governor Paul Beaudry said governments and central banks should have withdrawn stimulus measures earlier, as doing so would have likely resulted in lower inflation, as The Canadian Press has reported.
Now, amid ongoing high inflation, Morneau says that while the Central Bank's "only appropriate response" is to raise interest rates, he is among the economic observers who is concerned about the country's current economic situation.
"I think the challenge that we're facing now is obviously significant," Morneau said. "Inflation is hugely problematic for people to deal with. And so, when you raise interest rates, inevitably there's less investment. So I do worry about the potential for a recession in 2023."
"My hope is that if we have one, it will be shallow recession, and one that we would we be able to come out of," he continued.
Morneau said this means the government's current focus on fiscal prudence is "doubly important."
"We really need to make sure that we're not adding to the challenge with government actions," he said.
DOES HE THINK TRUDEAU IS AN EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC MANAGER?
Kapelos had to ask Morneau twice to get a direct response as to whether he thinks his former boss is an effective manager of the economy.
After initially speaking about how he thinks the federal government is currently "rightly focused" on Canadians' concerns about the economy, and how there needs to be better long-term planning with both the provinces and the private sector when it comes economic growth, Morneau said "everyone can do better."
"Look, I think we could have done better while I was there. I think that the government can do better now," he said.
"And, I think being an effective manager means focusing on a few things that are critically important and doing them every day. The challenge of the 24/7 news cycle response is that takes your eye off the ball. And so for me, growth in the economy, long-term solutions to a health-care crisis that continues to repeat itself… and thinking about that energy transition, they all need that perspective."
With files from Â鶹´«Ã½' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos and CTV’s Question Period associate producer Spencer Van Dyk
Tune in to Â鶹´«Ã½' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos' debut on CTV’s Question Period this Sunday at 11 a.m.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP needs to decide whether 4 million Canadians deserve dental care: minister
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
2 suspended from U.S. college swim team after report of slur scratched onto student's body
At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body, officials said.
Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.
What is the U.S. Electoral College? America's path to the presidency, explained
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Trump's goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance after cancer treatment
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
Heavy metal exposure could increase cardiovascular disease risk, study finds
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.