Budget watchdog: Austerity is already here

Overall federal expenditures have declined by three per cent during the first six months of the fiscal year, as Ottawa seeks to rein in Canada’s budget deficit, the office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported on Wednesday. The downward trend in federal spending was widespread across government agencies and likely the product of restraint measures adopted in the last two budgets, Reuters reports. The news means Ottawa is well on its way to achieve its promise to keep federal spending growth under 1.5 per cent this fiscal year, the Globe and Mail notes.

Globe and Mail

Reuters