Opposition demands PM fire Flaherty over ballooning deficit

[daleo]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced calls from opposition MPs on Wednesday to fire his finance minister after Jim Flaherty acknowledged this week that Canada's deficit will balloon to more than $50 billion this fiscal year.

Flaherty announced Tuesday the deficit will rise by more than $16 billion in 2009-10 from the $34 billion he forecast in January's budget.

During Wednesday's question period, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff lampooned Flaherty's statements six weeks ago that his forecasts were "on track" and called his handling of the global recession "incompetence on a historic scale."

"What is at stake here is the credibility of the government of Canada and the credibility of the minister of finance," Ignatieff told the House.
...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/05/27/finance-deficit-flaherty050.html
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He was only out by about 50 billion over six months (only about 6 billion per month). "Do you think it's easy doing a budget?"

[IntravenousDemilo]

1. Fifty billion divided by six is...

... not six billion.

[daleo]

2. You're right of course

I meant to say eight.

[CHIMO]

3. But

If one listened to the CBC's AM radio program today, then the impartial panel kept on talking about the unknown unknowns in politics. So he is given a pass. Of course we know that the government is not influencing the CBC.