Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon told opposition MPs they should fall in line as the Liberals prepare to table a fall budget with what he admitted will be a “substantial” deficit.“We are not here to bargain,” MacKinnon said as Parliament returned from a 13-week summer break. “We’re here to govern in the best interests of Canadians and that’s what we’re going to do.” He added Canadians “turned to Prime Minister Mark Carney to lead their country” and gave Liberals a mandate to move ahead with major spending plans.Blacklock's Reporter said the Liberals hold 169 of 343 Commons seats, leaving them without a majority on committees that review cabinet bills, including the finance committee that must approve the budget act. .Still, MacKinnon urged MPs to bring suggestions quietly to ministers but warned the government’s objectives would not change.MacKinnon would not reveal the size of the coming deficit, refusing to confirm speculation it could hit $100 billion. He said only that the shortfall will be “substantial” and claimed it will take both restraint and economic growth to solve. Conservatives and Bloc MPs predict the deficit will be in the $80 billion range, a historic record outside of pandemic levels.MacKinnon said he expects opposition parties to show “responsibility” but argued past actions from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre were anything but.
