The federal government is looking at a menu of cuts including a public service hiring freeze and delaying current and election platform spending plans to avoid falling into a deficit, sources familiar with finance options say.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have been dismissing any possibility of running a deficit for months, including during the federal election campaign.
But as the reality of the financial crisis and economic slowdown sinks in, Harper has become less categorical and on Friday for the first time explicitly did not rule out a deficit.
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http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/10/17/federal-deficit.html-------------------------------------------------------------
Last week's ridiculous, hypothetical scenario is this week's policy. That's what bothers me about Harper the most - the bald faced lying. But the media just ignores that.