Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called on the Conservative government Thursday to reveal just how much higher the federal deficit will climb this fiscal year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks in the House of Commons during question period in Ottawa on Wednesday as Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff looks on. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)Ignatieff's query came during question period in the House of Commons after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty disclosed earlier this week that Canada's deficit for 2009-10 will balloon to more than $50 billion.

That is more than $16 billion above the amount projected by Flaherty in the January budget.

"Canadians are tired of these sorry 'guesstimates' — they want to know the truth," Ignatieff told the House.

"How much more, prime minister? How much more?"

Harper said that in the end the deficit will depend on how the Canadian economy performs. He again accused Ignatieff of hypocrisy for slamming the government for the rising deficit while simultaneously calling for more money to be spent.

"You know, he comes here, tries to criticize the deficit, but day after day he is here demanding literally tens of billions of dollars of new spending from this government, new spending, permanent spending, unavoidable spending that is paid for by tax increases," Harper said.

On Wednesday, the prime minister insisted the deficit is "affordable" and small in relation to deficits being carried by other G8 countries.

Ignatieff ridiculed the Tories' claim that the deficit will be short-lived, saying "there is not a single Canadian who believes that is true."

January's federal budget predicted five years of deficits with a shortfall of $64 billion over the next two years — a figure that will now climb to more than $80 billion.

Just two months before that, Flaherty predicted years of surpluses in the government's fall economic update.

Layton decries 'fat cat' CPP executive bonuses

NDP Leader Jack Layton used his question time to assail the government over what he called "fat cat" multimillion-dollar bonuses being paid to five heads of the Canada Pension Plan after the plan recorded a loss of $24 billion in 2008.

Layton cited the CPP Investment Board's recently released annual report, which disclosed bonus payments to the executives totalling $11 million in 2008 and $6 million in 2009.

"We have the prime minister essentially endorsing $17 million of Canadians' money going into the pockets of executives who just lost $24 billion," the NDP leader told the House. "How can that make any sense whatsoever?"

Harper and Flaherty noted that the bonuses were determined by the CPP board of directors, and the government will not interfere with the pension plan's management.

"This is a joint body of federal and provincial governments that is administered at arm's length and independent of politics," the prime minister said.

"That is a board decision, not a government decision."

Harper also insisted the overall pension plan is "actuarially sound," while noting that the board reduced the overall remuneration for the executives by more than 30 per cent in 2008.

David Denison, the pension plan's chief executive, has acknowledged an "extremely difficult year" as the plan's assets dropped in value from the financial fallout of the global economic crisis.

Speaking outside the Commons, Liberal MP and former finance minister Ralph Goodale said the government should invite the board to re-examine the bonuses in the wake of hundreds of thousands of job losses in Canada during the current recession.

Goodale told CBC News the Tories have to “be very careful not to capriciously interfere in the management” of the investment board.

“But there is a set of circumstances now having to do with the recession, and I think the government should invite the board to take those circumstances into account and remember the circumstances of the people whose pensions they are managing.”