The bill is in second reading, with the most recent debate occurring during Chamber Sitting 63 held February 22. If adopted, it would then proceed to committee for further scrutiny.

The last Liberal budget was presented by then Finance Minister Bill Morneau on March 19, 2019… almost two years ago.

Bill C-14 is designed to allow the government to continue operating without having to table a budget. It deals with, in part, federal borrowing.

The summary states, “Part 7 amends the Borrowing Authority Act to, among other things, increase the maximum amount of certain borrowings and include certain borrowings that were previously excluded in the calculation of that amount. It also makes a related amendment to the Financial Administration Act.”

Those “borrowings” were the subject of discussion during the “Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2021 Budget” held by the Standing Committee on Finance in January, whereby it became known that Freeland intended to increase government borrowing authority to $1.8 trillion – more than Canada's $1.71 trillion GDP in 2020.

The number was particularly alarming because just over a month earlier, in the fall economic statement delivered November 30, the number had been $1.2 trillion. It appeared as though government spending was out of control, being funded by unhinged borrowing, and that the Liberals had no real grasp on how much money they intended to spend.

Freeland reassured the committee however, that the $1.8 trillion number was “prudent”.

As usual however, the devil is in the details, and the details are in Part 7 of the bill.

Part 7 “Borrowing Authority Act” includes amendments to the Act that increases the total amount of borrowing by the Minister of Finance from $1,168,000,000,000 to $1,831,000,000,000.

Then, there is a qualifier.

It also includes the following amendment, “6. The Minister may borrow an amount under an order made under paragraph 46.