The Canadian Taxpayers Federation brought their National Debt Clock Tour to Weyburn on March 8 to create public awareness, elevate the importance of balanced budgets, and provide a means for the public to engage lawmakers about the federal governments rising debt.
"We find that a lot of people know debt is going up, they're just not aware how much it's going up," said Colin Craig, prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "When people see the clock they're absolutely shocked."
According to the debt clock, the national debt is at $561.6 billion and rising. The six-foot high, 12-foot long clock displays both the per-second increase in public debt and the per-person figure, which was at $16,550 while in Weyburn.
"Debt is rising $1,400 a second and $124 million a day," said Craig. "Time is of the essence to get this thing turned around. For every $1 the government borrows they have to pay interest on it."
Craig said that the federal government pays $31 billion a year in interest payments alone and that Canadian's personal income tax could be reduced by about 27 percent if it wasn't for this great expense.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is circulating a petition to compel the government to balance the budget and pass balanced budget legislation. The petition is available online.
The Debt Clock is scheduled to visit nine provinces, wrapping up in Halifax the last week of March.
