Surrey, Brampton mayors call for Ottawa to declare extortion crisis a national emergency

OTTAWA — Canada’s fiscal watchdog projects that the Carney government’s commitment to increase defence spending to at least 5 per cent of the economy will increase the federal deficit by $63 billion a year over the next decade, almost twice what the deficit is currently expected to average over the next few years.   In a new report published Thursday, Jason Jacques, the interim Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO), said the fiscal effect of meeting Ottawa’s commitment to hit the new NATO target of 5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP)  will ramp up gradually over the next decade ...