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加拿大公众不得不为联邦政府疫情欺诈姑息买单(观点)

Opinion: Ottawa's incompetence and leniency toward fraud put Canadians in precarious state
来源: 大中网/096.ca 南茜(Nancy Jin)
根据安大略法院文件,一名多伦多的优步司机在重新开启了绝大部分他曾关闭了的16个业务账户后,获得了联邦政府提供的逾$450万加元的疫情资助贷款!这起欺诈案只是渥太华政府提供的高达$2.635亿加元的诈骗性贷款之冰山一角,暴露出渥京政府在发放疫情救助款时的玩忽职守和不负责任的态度。然而,即使是这个巨额数字,也远远无法与2022年审计长报告中披露的联邦政府所滥发的$340亿加元的疫情救助款相提并论。这些滥发款项中包括对不符合领取条件的加拿大个人发放的$46亿加元的CERB补贴,对营业收入未呈巨幅下跌的企业发放的$155亿加元的CEWS资助, 提供给那些已经辞职、遭监禁甚至死亡的人士颁发的$16亿加元的疫情救助款,以及在进一步审查中的其他问题款项。

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A Toronto Uber driver received over $4.5 million in Covid-related business loans after reactivating most of the 16 business accounts he had previously dissolved, according to Ontario court documents.  The fraud case represents just a fraction of the $263.5 million in impaired loans distributed by the Ottawa government, exposing its irresponsible disbursement practices for pandemic relief. However, even this substantial figure pales in comparison to the $34 billion pandemic misspending identified by auditor general’s report in 2022. The revealed misspending included 4.6 billion in CERB payments issued to individual Canadians not meeting requirements, $15.5 billion in CEWS payments to businesses that had not experienced significant revenue decline, $1.6 billion allocated to individuals who quit their job, were imprisoned or had even passed away, as well as additional funds under further scrutiny.

渥太华应对领取疫情铺贴者进行适当的拨款前筛选,并建立“严格和全面的系统性措施”来确保领取资助企业符合规定。这数百亿的资金浪费除了显示渥太华未能履行其看护纳税人资金之职责,突显了联邦政府对管理公共财政的无能,并暴露出渥太华对不断积累的巨额债务所带来恶果毫无预见性。三年后,大幅改变的宏观经济环境对联邦政府大手笔借债秋后算账,突飞猛进的利率让渥太华措手不及。



The tens of billions of waste funds have made it abundantly clear that Ottawa has failed in its duty to responsibly spend taxpayers’ money, underscoring federal government’s indifference to safeguarding the public coffers.  It lacked a proper prepayment screening for individual recipients and did not set up a “rigorous and comprehensive approach” to ensure the benefits distributed to qualified businesses.  Even more concerning was Ottawa’s apparent ignorance of the devastating consequences of accumulating massive debt loads, which have now come back to haunt them three years later. The rapidly rise in interest rates has reshaped macroeconomic environment, catching Ottawa off guard.

这笔令人瞠目结舌的资金在当时低利率环境下可能显得微不足道。因为当时低利率呈历史最低水平,偿还账务成本极低。财政部长弗里兰女士在担任部长后的首次重要讲话中辩称:“的确,联邦政府在为抗击疫情采取了前所未有的巨额举债举措,但即使如此,其对加国的财政健康的威胁仍然有限。”



The eye-popping misspending may have seemed insignificant at the time when the cost of servicing a mounting debt was at historical low due to the rock-bottom interest rate. “Yes, the federal government was borrowing unprecedented sums of money to fund pandemic support programs,” The Finance Minister Ms. Freeland argued in her first major address as minister, “but the risk to the country’s fiscal health remained limited.”

随着加拿大央行为应对激增的通货膨胀采取激进的利率上调政策, 弗里兰的这一说辞目前已完全站不住脚。随着利率从接近零的水平上升至5%,加拿大政府债券的收益率如今已经达到自2007年以来的最高水平,使债务偿还成本大幅上升。更令人担忧的是,加拿大政府10年期债券收益率短期内迅速攀升,表明长期利率很可能稳定在高于疫情前水平。这一令人沉重和不安的现实告诉人们,渥太华政府已背上了令人乍舌的高额债务。



This argument has now been flipped on its head following the Bank of Canada's aggressive interest rate hikes in response to surging inflation. With rates surging to 5% from near-zero, yields on Government of Canada bonds are now at their highest levels since 2007, significantly driving up debt-service costs. Even more concerning is the rapid climb in the yield on 10-year Government of Canada bonds, which indicates that interest rates may settle at levels higher than those before the pandemic. Ottawa has found itself mired in a staggering debt burden under this grim and sobering reality.

2023-24年度预算显示,渥太华最初预计今年财政年度的利息支出将达到$439亿加元,远高于两年前的$245亿加元,而比2020年的金额更是翻了一番。然而,实际数字可能会比预算额更高。国会预算办公室的报告突显自2014/15年至2023/24年间自由党政府面临的赤字远高于预算,预计将增加$1327亿加元,增幅达到41%。毫无疑问,联邦政府的大规模的滥发疫情补贴是其目前的债务危机的主要罪魁。



Ottawa had originally expected to spend $43.9 billion on interest payments this fiscal year, up from $24.5 billion two years ago and more than double the amount in 2020, according to its 2023-24 budget. However, the actual number could be even higher. The PBO report highlights the higher-than-expected deficit faced by the Liberal government, projecting it to grow by $132.7 billion—or 41%—between 2014/15 and 2023/24. Undoubtedly, the federal government's massive fraudulent payments have significantly contributed to the soaring debt crisis.

渥太华高企的债务水平不但加大了企业的财务风险,也危及加拿大人士的个人的财务。更让加国人士不满的的是自由党政府将难以兑现的,给新民主党做的的实现“全民药保”之承诺,使低收入加拿大人享用免费药物的希望落空。