Budget 2023 belt-tightening: Liberals order federal spending review, cuts

OTTAWA — Federal departments and agencies are being told to start tightening their belts as the Trudeau government looks for ways to pay for its latest budget promises while easing recent criticism over its use of outside consultants such as McKinsey & Company. But while Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the savings won’t come at the expense of service to Canadians, the country’s largest public service union and others warned the opposite is likely true. Freeland unveiled the Liberals’ latest federal budget plan on Tuesday, which promises billions of dollars for the health-care system, clean-energy infrastructure and other priorities. Yet…