Parliament’s spending watchdog says the estimated deficit for the year has likely risen to about $260 billion, leaving the government with little fiscal firepower to stimulate an economic rebound.
Budget officer Yves Giroux previously estimated the federal deficit at $252.1 billion this fiscal year on account of a sharp increase in spending on emergency aid and a subsequent drop in economic activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to the Senate finance committee Tuesday, Giroux said the government has added about $7.6 billion in spending since his last report, pushing the potential deficit ever deeper.
Giroux said that level of spending isn’t sustainable for more than a few years. He said emergency aid would have to eventually