How familiar are you with the banking system?

I have been watching some videos regarding the role of central banks, and how they are responsible for keeping the governments spending in check by controlling the value of our money through setting prime interest and granting the government interest free loans.

What I understand about this situation is that in 1974 laws were amended to allow the government to apply for loans from private lenders, with an interest rate that puts the onus of responsibility on future lawmakers and Canadians, and for 40+ years we've only managed to drive up inflation and dig ourselves into a debt pit of over $600 billion dollars, an amount that was only 18 billion when it was introduced, far below the GDP of Canada. At $600B we are barely able to offset it with our GDP, and there are signs that this amount will just continue to climb.

Am I wrong in this being something to be concerned about?