Member of Parliament and Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier was the first signatory of Generation Screwed’s Future Generations Protection Pledge, committing himself to the defence of future generations and fiscal responsibility. Surrounded by Generation Screwed coordinators and Executive Director Aaron Gunn, Mr. Bernier signed copies of the pledge in both French and English at Generation Screwed’s Quebec City Action Forum earlier this year, before proceeding to address conference attendees and take questions from the media.   

The pledge is Generation Screwed’s latest effort to sound the alarm on the federal government’s plunge back into debt. By 2019-20, Canada’s federal debt is set to grow to over $718 billion while interest costs are poised to jump by 28% over the same period.

Put simply, future generations are being handed a bill for benefits they did not enjoy and in which they had no democratic say. And it’s a bill they cannot afford.

That’s why we decided to launch the “Future Generations Protection Pledge” – a comprehensive contract between future generations and their political leaders to get the country’s finances back under control. The pledge commits signatories to:

1. Present a balanced budget to the House of Commons within 24 months after taking office – stopping the federal debt clock;

2. After the budget is balanced, commit to running ONLY balanced budgets in all times outside of war or natural disaster; and

3. Legislate a debt repayment schedule, dedicating a portion of annual revenues towards eliminating the debt.

Over the course of this past week, the remaining thirteen candidates officially seeking the Conservative Party nomination all received copies of the pledge and invitations to sign. Once candidates for the NDP leadership race are known they too will be offered the opportunity to sign the pledge.

Speaking to the CBC following the event, Mr. Bernier remarked “I’m making the promise to have a balanced budget, the promise, if I am elected as the next Conservative leader, to have a government living within its means, a government which will respect taxpayers.”

We look forward to getting similar commitments from every one of the CPC and NDP leadership contestants.

To keep track of who has and who hasn’t signed the pledge click HERE. 

 

For more information:

 

 

Aaron Gunn – Executive Director, Generation Screwed

email: agunn@generationscrewed.ca