News In Brief
| Ottawa
Ottawa budget restraint draws mixed response
Opposition and labor leaders condemned Canadian Finance Minister Marc Lalonde for not doing enough for the unemployed in his budget, while business welcomed his cautious, ''don't rock the boat'' approach.
Mr. Lalonde, presenting what may be his last budget before the next election, decided Wednesday to preach restraint and resisted handing out what he called ''a package of goodies'' to voters.
His budget allots only $120 million more to job creation programs and lifts wage controls on government employees, while freezing price rises for state-controlled services like telephones and transport at 4 percent.
He also pledged to trim the record $25.3 billion deficit by $1.6 billion in the next financial year.
