“We always have to remember that if the federal government has a deficit, then it means some other sector has a surplus. We need to understand which sector that is and, more importantly, if it’s desirable. In this case, the surplus will likely be created for high-income households and large, foreign-owned companies benefiting from defence spending—they are on the other side of this deficit.”
“This didn’t have to be the case. The government could have provided more support for unemployed workers through better Employment Insurance (EI) or beefed up one of the various low-income transfers. It could also have raised taxes on the rich in order to protect and improve public services.”
I can’t remember where I heard it (maybe on a CBC panel?) but MPs can vote remotely now, like on their phone or whatever. I wasn’t aware of this before, but it does mean that an abstention can no longer be handwaved away.