'Utterly absurd': Freeland rebuffs Poilievre's offer of two hours to present fall economic statement

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has rebuffed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's offer to give up two hours of scheduled opposition time next Monday to present the awaited fall economic statement as "utterly absurd."

"This proposal from the Conservatives is like an arsonist who set the fire in the first place, saying, 'don't worry about it, I'll come with a fire truck for a couple of hours, but tomorrow I'll be back again with matches,'" Freeland said ahead of Senate committee testimony on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's economic management, Poilievre noted the government had yet to schedule the updated look at the federal government’s spending, revenues and budgetary balance, which is usually tabled before December.

"What's she hiding? Is she hiding that Trudeau lost control of the deficit this year, just like every year?" Poilievre said to reporters on Parliament Hill Wednesday ahead of a meeting with his caucus. "Common Sense Conservatives are calling for the finance minister to introduce a fall update to indicate whether she's keeping her promise to cap the deficit at $40 billion."

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Poilievre said his party would be willing to "cooperate" to allow Freeland to introduce the fall fiscal picture in the House on Monday, a day the Speaker has already designated an opposition day where the Conservatives will otherwise be advancing and forcing a debate on a non-confidence motion.

"The challenge is over to Chrystia Freeland and Justin Trudeau. Stand on your feet Monday at 4 p.m. – we'll clear the deck so you can do it – and tell us how badly you've lost control of the nation's finances and the inflation and taxes Canadians pay as a result," Poilievre said.

Freeland said Poilievre's suggestion shows "the complete contempt" the Conservatives have for Parliament. She did not confirm a date for the fall economic statement when briefly speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"I will be presenting it soon, and I'm looking forward to it," she said.

Ahead of her response, several of her cabinet colleagues dismissed the push as a diversion, and suggested the Official Opposition may have ulterior motives.

"I always take what he says with a grain of salt," said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. "There's always a hidden agenda."

Noting the Conservative-led filibuster that has blocked most House of Commons business now for months, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said Poilievre has "shown absolutely no regard for Canadians through many, many weeks of this Parliament."

Treasury Board President and Transport Minister Anita Anand said Freeland is "working extremely hard, as are a number of us in government, to deliver that fall economic statement as soon as possible."

"I'll leave it to her to decide when to do that in the House of Commons. I don't think that Pierre Poilievre's offer is going to be what moves her to present her financial update and the fall economic statement to Canadians," Anand said. "She'll do it when she's ready."

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On her way into cabinet Government House Leader Karina Gould said it was the first she was hearing about Poilievre's pitch.

"I'll have to think about that… What I would say to them is that we should end the filibuster," Gould said.

As the government's point-person on scheduling House business, Gould said what would be more conducive to parliamentarians' time would be for the Official Opposition to agree to allow the privilege motion regarding documents related to a now-defunct green technology fund, to come to a vote, so more work can get done.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said Poilievre’s proposition "does not seem necessary at all" because Freeland can present the economic update "wherever she wants.”

But Blanchet said, "it would be relevant to have a better picture" of the Canadian economy "considering what the coming months might bring to Canada and Quebec."

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, meanwhile, said he would like to see the update as soon as possible but it’s up to the federal government to decide.

On Tuesday, a senior government source told CTV News that the fall economic statement would be introduced next week, though Freeland's office would not confirm that. Later that day, when asked repeatedly by reporters, the minister said she was "very keen and intent" on delivering the update, but said the ongoing standoff in the Commons was standing in her way.

On Wednesday, a senior government official suggested that presenting the updated fiscal picture less than 48 hours before a Bank of Canada rate announcement was a "a reckless and ill-thought out idea, and another said discussions were continuing about potentially tabling the fall economic statement the week after.

The next rate announcement is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 11. The House of Commons is scheduled to adjourn for the year on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

According to a recent report from the parliamentary budget officer, the federal government is expected to run a deficit of $46.8 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, which is more than the $40 billion projected in the April budget.

The update on the state of the country's finances comes amid a commitment from the federal government to boost equipment and personnel resources at the Canada-U.S. border, that so far has lacked specifics on where the funding for this would be coming from.

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The fiscal check-in also comes amid uncertainty about a recent pledge to give a $250 "Working Canadian Rebate" next spring to more than 18 million Canadians who worked and earned up to $150,000 in 2023 after the NDP said they wouldn't support the affordability measure unless it's expanded to include seniors and those with disabilities. The current price tag of the measure would be an estimated $4.7 billion.

Speaking about the deficit, Blanchet said the federal government "should be careful about digging deeper and deeper in deficit, which is becoming quite a weight to carry."

Asked her thoughts on the timing of the fall economic statement, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May said she just hopes to see an update on the economy ahead of the next federal budget.

"Looking at changing climatic conditions, fall doesn't always occur where it used to, neither does spring. So it appears that climate change has also budged the seasons on a fall economic statement," May said.

"There is legislation usually attached to a fall economic statement, which means a lot about the climate needs to shift. I wait in hope for a fall economic statement, even if it comes in February."

With files from CTV News' Vassy Kapelos and Stephanie Ha