Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne pushed back against accusations from Conservative MPs that the Liberals are “cooking the books” after announcing major changes to how Ottawa presents its budgets.Champagne said the traditional spring budget and Fall Economic Statement will be swapped, meaning the main budget will now be delivered each fall, followed by a spring update. Blacklock's Reporter said he insisted the change was purely administrative, not political. “Today gives us an opportunity to really present a new way of doing things,” said Champagne. He claimed the shift would offer “more predictability for the provinces and territories” and better alignment with the construction season..According to the Department of Finance, pre-budget consultations will now take place in summer, and the new fiscal year beginning April 1 will continue as usual. “The budget will be delivered in the fall ahead of the Main Estimates,” the department said.Opposition MPs were not convinced. Conservative finance critic Jasraj Hallan (Calgary East) accused the minister of using “tricky accounting practices” to disguise fiscal mismanagement. “Are you guys going to be cooking the books, trying to trick Canadians?” he asked. Champagne shot back that the accusation was “irresponsible” and “beneath Parliament.”Conservative MP Sandra Cobena (Newmarket–Aurora, Ont.) questioned why the government was changing its presentation instead of fixing its finances. .“Why not change your reckless spending instead?” she said. “Every single person in my riding doesn’t get to rework their budget to see if it looks better at month’s end. The bottom line is the bottom line.”Champagne replied that providing “more information to Canadians” was a sign of transparency, not evasion.The exchange came as Conservatives reminded the committee that Canada has not balanced a federal budget since 2007. MP Pat Kelly (Calgary Crowfoot) accused the Liberals of “distracting Canadians with accounting rule changes.” .When he repeatedly asked when the government would balance the budget, Champagne refused to give a year.“Our budget will be a generational spend in the future,” he said. Pressed again, Champagne claimed it was “irresponsible” to ask the question.“I am left to conclude the budget will never be balanced under this government,” said Kelly, noting that even the Parliamentary Budget Officer told MPs the fiscal “path we are on isn’t sustainable.”
