Food & Energy
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday proposed billions in new mid-term deficit spending at rates up to 95 percent higher than forecast only a year ago. Freeland revised all deficit projections upwards despite writing in her budget document that “it would be irresponsible and unfair to pass more debt to the next generation.”
“This budget is our path forward,” Freeland told reporters. The budget document Fairness For Every Generation did not set any date for eliminating the deficit. Parliament has not balanced a budget since 2007.
“We absolutely believe it is important for the federal government, or any government, to be careful in the way we spend money,” said Freeland. “It is not our money, it is the money of Canadians, and they quite rightly expect us to be really thoughtful.”
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Read MoreFinance Minister Chrystia Freeland today tabled a 400-page-plus budget her government is pitching as a balm for anxious millennials and Generation Z.
The budget proposes $52.9 billion in new spending over five years, including $8.5 billion in new spending for housing. To offset some of that new spending, Ottawa is pitching policy changes to bring in new revenue.
Here are some of the notable funding initiatives and legislative commitments in budget 2024.
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Read MoreOntario Provincial Police (OPP) are investigating after tropical fish were among the goods taken last week from a restaurant northwest of Ottawa.
In a news release, police said the break-in happened early Thursday morning in Beachburg and that cash was also taken.
“It is certainly out of the ordinary,” Const. Shawn Peever told CBC over the phone on Tuesday.
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Read MoreNearly 37,000 Quebecers were the victims of frauds in 2023, an increase of 15 per cent over the previous two years, according to the Association des directeurs de police (ADPQ).
The ADPQ announced the “worrisome increase” in the number of frauds during a press conference Wednesday at the Sûreté du Québec’s headquarters in Montreal.
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Read MoreIf there is one silver lining in the climate change crisis, it’s that the increasing frequency of catastrophes has made it easier to convince the general population the effects of greenhouse gases are real. Flash floods, record-breaking forest fire seasons, extended heat waves and droughts occurring on a repeated basis have translated into a greater openness on the part of many to support environmental fixes.
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Read MoreThe Versante, a boutique hotel with 100 rooms near the Vancouver International Airport, is on the market, asking a hefty $98 million following a court-ordered sale.
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Read MoreFrom nature walks and cleanup efforts to parties for the planet, there are many events happening around Metro Vancouver to honour this blue-and-green ball of stardust we all call home.
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Many of the events are planned for the weekend before or after April 22, so mark your calendars.
Here is a list of just some of the events happening around the region:
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Read MoreThe world population has hit 8 billion people. If you listen to the media, you might think the apocalypse is just around the corner. Marian Tupy, co-author of Superabundance, says more humans on planet Earth is a good thing. Marian and PragerU CEO Marissa Streit discuss the benefits of a growing population. Find out why more people equals more ideas, more innovation, and a better world.
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Read MoreDavid Dodge, former deputy finance minister and governor of the Bank of Canada, said before the 2024 federal budget was presented that it would “likely be one of the worst in decades.” He wasn’t wrong. The budget Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland delivered Tuesday fails to address the biggest problem currently facing Canada — our declining standard of living.
It is very irritating to hear the Trudeau government congratulate itself for Canada’s economic growth over the past few years without pointing out that all of it has come from immigration. Factor out population growth and Canada’s real GDP “growth” per capita has been negative 2.5 per cent — a number mentioned nowhere in the budget. Even Carolyn Rogers, deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, recently called our weak economic performance an economic emergency — and bank officials are always extremely careful about their choice of words.
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Read MoreIn its 2021 federal budget, the Liberal government introduced its national child care plan. It proposed up to $30 billion in new spending over five years, and then $9.2 billion annually on an ongoing basis to establish national government-regulated child care at an average out-of-pocket cost to families of $10 per day. The stated objective was to build a high-quality, affordable, and accessible child care system across Canada.
The early evidence on the effect of the government program is not encoura
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