The federal government is continuing its high-spending ways despite the end of its rationale for doing so, say the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) and others concerned about long-term economic consequences. “Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has spent, or has planned to spend, $541.9 billion in new measures—almost one third of which [$176.6…

OTTAWA—A new report on billions of dollars the federal government has sent to provinces to help safely reopen the economy suggests much of the money is sitting unused. Today’s report also suggests that federal efforts to stretch the financial impact of those dollars is falling short as many provinces have bucked cost-matching requests. The analysis by the Canadian Centre…