00:00:00.000Juno News' Calgary Stampede event saw Conservative leader Pierre Polyev and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attend the event, giving appreciative remarks.
00:00:12.000A new report from the C.D. Howe Institute shows that the Carney government will run $350 billion in deficit spending over the next four years.
00:00:21.000Federal court judges are complaining that their annual salaries of $415,000 are just not enough
00:00:28.000and are urging the federal government for a $60,000 raise.
00:00:32.000Hello, Canada. It's Monday, July 7th, and this is the True North Daily Brief.
00:02:18.000I mean, we are in an era in which there is a new medium that has emerged, the Internet, that has disrupted the media landscape
00:02:25.000and is really changing how people consume news content.
00:02:30.000Before, you know, people used to just buy newspapers for like a 10 cents back when the New York Times was actually popular.
00:02:37.000And, you know, then people would use radios and listen to their news that way along with newspapers.
00:02:44.000And while you would add on these new mediums like television and then color television, these other legacy organizations were still able to survive like newspapers,
00:02:54.000even if they did go out of fashion every now and then.
00:02:58.000However, now you have the Internet, the emergence of this medium that is really seeking to disrupt and destroy some industries that were previously able to withstand the emergence of new mediums like newspapers.
00:03:11.000Newspapers, newspaper subscriptions have plummeted substantially and thus those newsrooms have shrunk substantially.
00:03:17.000So in this era in which you have a new medium, you need media outlets to be able to conform to and adapt to these new mediums and to really accentuate its strengths.
00:03:29.000And I think that True North and Juneau News has done a very good job at that with our great website and the podcast and other video and audio content that we offer, the social media presence that we have.
00:03:42.000We've done a great job adapting to this new media landscape because we were born from it.
00:03:47.000True North and Juneau News were not born back in the newspaper era or back in the television era.
00:03:53.000This is a news organization that is built for the times of today.
00:03:57.000So you're going to see, you know, papers like the papers like the post media news organization or tour star.
00:04:06.000You're going to start to see those guys really start to shrink and struggle to compete with independent news organizations that are able to adapt quicker, that are more agile, that don't have these bloated newsrooms and are still able to deliver high quality content for their readers.
00:04:23.000So I think that the growth of independent media has been a great thing.
00:04:27.000Sure, you might have, you know, popping up some illegitimate news organizations that try to claim to be legitimate.
00:04:35.000But I think people are smart enough to distinguish between fake news and true news, at least when at least for the most part.
00:04:43.000So I think that True North and Juneau News are going to have a big, big part to play in the news landscape going forward, and it'll only get bigger from now on.
00:04:52.000As the government of Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to delay tabling a budget, a new report calculates the estimated cost of implementing the Liberal government's fiscal plan, which would massively increase Canada's structural debt.
00:05:08.000A new report from the CD Howe Institute calculates the estimated deficit in the Carney government's next budget based on the Liberals' stated spending commitments, revenue collection changes, and economic projections.
00:05:19.000The report found that the federal government and parliamentary budget officer have been massively underestimating their projected budget deficits, with their projected $29 billion deficit in fiscal year 2028-2029 more likely ending up being $71 billion.
00:05:34.000With the cost of the Liberal government's implemented fiscal policies and policy initiatives promised in their election platform, the Liberals are expected to massively increase the budget deficit to an annual average of $78 billion over the next four years.
00:05:48.000With this projection, the deficit in 2025-2026 is likely to reach over $92 billion.
00:05:55.000In the event that the Liberals' speculated savings do not manifest, the annual average deficit over the next four years would be $86 billion, with a cumulative deficit of almost $350 billion.
00:06:08.000This would result in an increase in Canada's net debt-to-GDP ratio to 44%.
00:06:13.000The increase in the national debt would largely be driven by the Liberal government's commitment to increase defence spending substantially, their party platform's policy initiatives, and an economic downturn resulting from the imposition of tariffs by the United States and Canada's counter-tariffs.
00:06:27.000C.D. Howe Institute President William Robson said, quote,
00:06:30.000The Liberal election platform, along with the commitment to much higher defence spending, amounts to a radical change in the nation's finances with long-lasting adverse consequences.
00:06:40.000The report also slams Carney's commitment to separate the federal government's operating and capital spending, arguing that the separation is unnecessary and obfuscates the government's true deficit spending.
00:06:51.000The report notes that the federal government already uses accrual accounting, which spreads capital costs over their useful life instead of recording them as an expense in the first year.
00:07:01.000The report calls on the Carney government to drop some of the costlier platform initiatives the party had promised in the 2025 election, to find deep savings in the government's existing operational spending, and rely less on income taxes and more on consumption taxes like the sales tax.
00:07:15.000The report also calls on the Carney government to cut transfers to promises and territories, though Carney has explicitly said that he will not consider any cuts to federal transfers.
00:07:25.000So, Isaac, this report lays out a dire image for the future of Canada's finances.
00:07:31.000And, you know, knocking on wood, this Carney government is going to exacerbate the already existing challenges that had arisen in the time in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the Prime Minister.
00:07:43.000So is Prime Minister Carney likely to reverse course and make the necessary cuts to the government spending?
00:07:49.000Yeah, no, at this point it's not looking likely, and I'll remind our listeners that during Trudeau's tenure, he doubled the debt to over $1.2 trillion.
00:07:57.000Carney might even take it a step further.
00:07:59.000We know his Liberal government will not even table a federal budget this year.
00:08:03.000The question is why. That has to be the question we're asking.
00:08:06.000For example, Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Franco Terrazano reminded us that even during the Great Depression and World War II, budgets were tabled.
00:08:16.000So any excuse that Carney might want to come up with for not tabling a budget is, frankly, inexcusable.
00:08:22.000That alone signals that the Liberals might not be ready to make tough decisions or be transparent about the real state of the finances.
00:08:30.000And even if they wanted to tackle the deficit, the numbers don't seem to add up.
00:08:34.000For example, a new study shows that to meet the Liberals' own saving targets, they'd have to cut up to 24% of public service spending, which would mean layoffs and huge service reductions.
00:08:46.000Just speaking of public service spending, it's funny, I was reminded of an old Ronald Reagan quote where he said, quote,
00:08:52.000We don't have inflation because the people are living too well. We have inflation because the government is living too well.
00:08:59.000But what we seem to be seeing out of the Liberals is a strategy to delay and reframe.
00:09:04.000The Liberals are splitting the budget into what they're calling operating and capital categories, which independent economists have slammed as an attempt to disguise the true deficit numbers rather than fix them.
00:09:14.000So even if there's some sort of major external pressure like a credit downgrade or a bond market crisis, it just looks like this Liberal government plans to continue to spend taxpayer money worse than the deficit and worse than the debt.
00:09:29.000Federally appointed judges complain that their $415,000 salary is no longer competitive and are asking for a $60,000 raise, arguing that more money would attract top legal professionals.
00:09:42.000The federal government is pushing against that claim, calling the demands for a raise unprecedented and insensitive, citing the economic pressures facing Canadians.
00:09:52.000The dispute is playing out before the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, which reviews salaries for federally appointed judges every four years.
00:10:00.000Judges associations are asking for the raise to be applied retroactively to April 2024, citing a growing gap between judicial pay and earnings in private legal practices.
00:10:10.000Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz said in an affidavit,
00:10:16.000Despite best efforts, I have often found myself unable to persuade qualified potential candidates to apply for judicial appointments.
00:10:23.000A routinely cited reason is the combination of the heavy workload of Superior Court judges and the perceived lack of commensurate pay.
00:10:30.000In a joint submission, the Canadian Judicial Council and the Canadian Superior Court's Judges Association said judicial vacancies are taking longer to fill and that the percentage of judges coming from private practice has declined 10% since 1990.
00:10:47.000They cited a persistent dramatic pay gap of up to $300,000 when comparing total judicial compensation to lawyers in the 75th income percentile.
00:10:56.000But government lawyers argue the judiciary remains well compensated and financially secure, with base salaries indexed annually and supported by one of the best pension plans in the country.
00:11:06.000Judges currently receive automatic annual increases based on the Industrial Aggregate Index, averaging 2.73% over the last two decades, including a 6.6% increase in 2022.
00:11:19.000A government study pegged the total 2024 compensation for a judge at $571,645 when factoring in pensions and benefits.
00:11:29.000Government lawyers wrote in their submissions, quote,
00:11:32.000Not only does this increase have no legal basis, but it is insensitive to the current economic challenges of Canadians.
00:11:39.000Matching the judicial salary to the salary of the highest earners in private practice is neither necessary nor appropriate.
00:11:46.000So, Noah, is $415,000 an offensively low salary for federal judges?
00:11:52.000I don't think so, Isaac. I mean, I'm not getting paid $415,000, but I'm not offended by my low salary or whatever.
00:11:59.000I actually get paid fine because I'm actually an average Canadian who does not need to be able to afford a Bentley or a condo that has a $10,000 per month rent.
00:12:10.000I am actually a regular Canadian who is able to, you know, get a regular property and eat regular food and dine with regular people who are not spending exorbitant amounts of money on a daily basis.
00:12:22.000I think this really shows the disconnect that a lot of people who are employed by the government have such secure positions and such secure salaries.
00:12:30.000The disconnect that they have from reality, from the everyday person where the average salary for a Canadian is far lower.
00:12:38.000They are making an over 99th percentile salary. Their salary is better than 99% of Canadians, over 99% of Canadians, and $415,000 would go a long, long way for many people.
00:12:53.000A lot of people would do a lot of things for $415,000 a year.
00:12:56.000So I think federal judges complaining that they're not getting paid enough is absolutely ridiculous.
00:13:01.000And, you know, sure, maybe some other lawyers get paid more in private practice, but you chose to be a judge to serve the public.
00:13:08.000Being a judge is about serving the public to ensure that you are the one holding up law and order when it is necessary,
00:13:15.000and that you are helping to seek justice for those who have been wrongly accused when it is appropriate.
00:13:21.000Your job as a judge is not to get rich off of the position. If that were the case, everyone would be a judge and nobody would be a lawyer.
00:13:29.000So there needs to be a balance between the idea that you're going into this job as a judge.
00:13:34.000You're going to make good money, you know, $415,000 in Trump change in Canada.
00:13:38.000But you're also maybe taking a bit of a sacrifice for the good of the country, for commitment to public service.
00:13:45.000I think a lot of judges, a lot of up and coming lawyers have sort of missed sight of that.
00:13:50.000If $415,000 isn't enough for you, I mean, sure, you can do something else.
00:13:55.000But that doesn't mean that taxpayers should be put on the bill for such a large increase in federal judicial salaries.
00:14:03.000You know, as the government said in their statements, this is currently quite offensive given the economic conditions.
00:14:11.000It's not like we are in an economic boom time with 4% GDP per capita growth on an annual basis.
00:14:17.000We're in a time in which people's salaries are getting less competitive as they're stagnating.
00:14:22.000We're in a time in which people are having a hard time paying the bills, you know, a hard time just paying the rent for that matter or just finding a place to purchase because it is absolutely impossible in places like Toronto and Vancouver.
00:14:35.000So I think that federal judges need to suck it up, you know, just take their $415,000 a year and be happy with it.
00:14:43.000That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify.
00:14:54.000Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us with a five star rating and please leave a review.