Chamber of Commerce Calls on Ottawa to Cut Spending by 15 Percent

Ottawa should slash spending by 15 percent and balance its next budget to boost Canada’s productivity and elevate its competitiveness on the international stage, says the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Cabinet must conduct a review to reduce funding for “outdated or inefficient programming” and curb hiring to meet the 15 percent target, the group said in a submission to the Commons finance committee, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter. The chamber is calling on the federal government to consider cuts that haven’t been seen since former Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s austerity measures in 1995 eliminated 45,000 federal jobs. Supplementing government spending with increased taxes must also end, the group recommended....