It was the best of weeks, and it was the worst of weeks for Ottawa and Washington. Last Tuesday, (February 11) Canada’s Finance Minister introduced the federal government’s budget to the House of Commons. On the following day, both branches of the United States Congress passed a bill to increase their budget’s “debt ceiling” in order to ensure that America’s Treasury Department could continue spending beyond its means. The two countries, therefore, have been and now will continue to be, headed in diametrically opposite fiscal policy directions.
