Confidence in Canada’s fiscal health is ‘eroding,’ says business group president [Video]

The president of the Business Council of Canada (BCC) says the business community’s confidence in the federal government’s picture of Canada’s fiscal health is “eroding” and suggests federal finances are “almost being manipulated.”

“What I’ve heard from business leaders across this country is that the math is not adding up and there are consequences to that,” Goldy Hyder told CBC’s The House just days before the finance minister presents her fall economic update.

“When you have eroding confidence that the finances of this country are literally almost being manipulated to give you a story that’s not accurate, that goes a long way in saying to business leaders, ‘Don’t invest right now,'” he told host Catherine Cullen.

Hyder pointed to Ottawa’s changes to capital gains taxes and its speculation about what to do with a surplus in the federal public service pension plan as signs that it’s anxious to find new sources of revenue.

“It looks like a government that’s looking under the …