#federal-budget

#federal-budget

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the debt ceiling agreement is just "the first step" of the GOP's broader agenda.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a news conference in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol on May 31, 2023, in Washington, D.C., after the House passed The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images After securing a debt ceiling agreement that caps federal spending and threatens food aid for hundreds of thousands of poor adults, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made clear Wednesday that Republicans are not finished targeting the nation's safety net programs - and signaled a coming effort by the GOP to slash Social Security and Medicare.

Toronto's next mayor will have to oversee cuts to services if other levels of government don't help cover a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, the deputy mayor said Wednesday, criticizing what she described as Ottawa's lack of support for the city.Jennifer McKelvie argued the federal budget released a day earlier had shut out Toronto.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has asked the federal telecommunications regulator to look into wireless roaming fees, saying he's concerned about companies hiking their rates while phone bills in other jurisdictions are generally declining.In a letter to CRTC chairwoman and CEO Vicky Eatrides, Champagne said the regulator plays an important role in promoting affordability and empowering consumers to make informed decisions.

The federal government wants Canadian companies to spend more of their own money to invest in their businesses and help grow the economy, so it's bringing in a new tax on corporations when they use their profits to do nothing more than pad their bottom lines.In the Fall Economic Statement released Thursday, the government announced it plans to implement a new tax of two per cent on stock buybacks.

Like its Canadian counterparts, Walmart is pushing back against claims that grocers are profiting from the rising cost of food.Gonzalo Gebara, the head of Walmart Canada, told MPs on the House agriculture committee Monday that rising prices were caused by "a perfect storm" of external factors, not price-gouging.

There's a growing financial gap in Germany's health insurance system.The country's ageing population means that overall healthcare costs are going up and three years of the Covid pandemic made the problem even worse.According to the latest estimates, statutory health funds like TK and AOK are facing a financial black hole to the tune of around 17 billion this year.