Article content continued

There is one story however that has emerged from this reckless spending spree and that is this: it will continue — indefinitely.

Ottawa has committed us to deficits — and well beyond two years from now when the Liberals promised these deficits would stop. They won’t stop until 2023. Maybe.

They have managed to make overspending one of the tenets of their mandate, and some would even argue a point of pride.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who boast about a strong Canadian economy, could have easily started putting Canada back on the path to surplus, yet they consciously chose not to.

They have become a government that is willing to mortgage the future to pay for your vote, today.

That’s the storyline of Budget 2018. Deficits. More deficits. Bigger deficits.

Worse, it’s a story line this government is embracing — one that brings them inexplicable joy.

Whether its cash to shore up their bid for a UN security council seat as they dole out more in foreign aid, or hiding behind a message of “gender equality” to spend almost 10% more than was projected on their own operations — there is no reason why Ottawa should deliberately spend more money than they bring in.

I don’t need to tell you that deficits are bad, but when they become a source of satisfaction for those who govern, we should be extremely troubled.

Indefinite spending and piling onto our debt leaves us with less options to manoeuvre out of troubled waters if times get tough. Our debt will have to be serviced at the expense of higher taxes and it will leave the next generation with less wealth — these are both indisputable facts.

But despite all this, what should really trouble us most is what was missing from the budget — any mention of a timeline to balance it.

— Lantsman was a senior political adviser to the previous Conservative government and currently lives and works in Toronto