The federal government has racked up so much federal debt that a taxpayer advocacy group is being forced to replace its infamous digital debt clock after it ran out of digits.
A video posted by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) shows the federal debt counter reach and pass the $1 trillion mark. Due to the fact that the counter was only built to display 12 digits, the CTF is currently in the process of replacing the clock so that it can continue to display the full amount of debt, which continues to rise.
“Yes, the CTF is indeed replacing our debt clock,” CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick told True North.
“It’s quite ironic that when we got the current clock built nobody even thought we’d need 13 digits. It was simply not conceivable the debt would grow that large. It is rising by almost a billion dollars a day now.”
According to Wudrick, the first version of the clock was built by the CTF in the early 1990s.
“We retired it after the Chretien/Martin Liberals balanced the budget in the mid 1990s. We built a new one after the Harper government plunged the country back into deficits in 2009 and we have been using that one until this past December. We hope to have a new clock ready sometime later this year.”
Despite the country’s growing debt and deficit, the Liberals have yet to table a budget detailing their spending plans since the coronavirus pandemic began.
“It’s a huge burden being placed on the backs of our children and grandchildren and the government does not appear to have any plan to either slow down spending or figure out a way to balance the budget,” said Wudrick.
As it stands, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is expected to post a $381 billion deficit in 2021.
Recent data also show that international investors have been buying up Canada’s national debt and securities.
According to Statistics Canada, foreign investors spent up to $11.8 billion buying up Canada’s federal debt in November alone.
