With Paul Rochon being praised as “an island of fiscal sanity” in the Liberal government, his departure is concerning.
When former Finance Minister Bill Morneau left, there was speculation that he was the loser of an internal struggle between Justin Trudeau’s cronies who want ever increasing spending, and more rational voices in the bureaucracy.
With Chrystia Freeland taking over, and the Liberals now promising $100 billion in new spending on top of a nearly $400 billion deficit, that was seemingly confirmed.
And now, Paul Rochon, the top non-elected official in the Finance Department, is leaving.
His departure comes just a day after the fiscal update was released.
Rochon is respected by many across the political spectrum, having also served in the Harper government.
Conservative Finance Critic Pierre Poilievre praised Rochon:
“Rochon is an excellent public servant. He was an island of fiscal sanity within this government.”
As noted by the Calgary Herald, Rochon’s letter announcing his resignation didn’t mention Chrystia Freeland:
“In his note, the deputy minister highlights the department’s work that he says allowed Canada to: “escape the ravages” of the 2008 financial crisis, enter the COVID-19 pandemic “in a strong fiscal position,” have a highly regarded public pension system, and put in place policies “that lessened the build-up in household indebtedness thereby avoiding potentially devastating impacts on households.”
The deputy minister also thanked a long list of finance department officials for their work. There is no mention of the work done by political staff or current Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland in the memo.”
Paul Rochon’s departure is a big concern
With Rochon departing, the question is what will happen next. If he was holding back even crazier stuff from happening, what will the Liberals be unleashing now?
It seems Trudeau & Freeland are on a drive to continue expanding government debt and spending, even as they impose policies that weaken growth, thus making the debt far less manageable.
That dangerous combination may be about to get worse.
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
