The Government of Canada is offering a series of cost-cutting measures aimed at cutting the government’s $1.9-billion budget deficit and reducing its $4.5-billion shortfall from the previous year.

A government spokesperson said the measures will reduce spending by about $2.4 billion over the next three years.

The government announced earlier this month that it is looking to eliminate $4-billion of government-owned businesses and close more than $200 million of government facilities.

The announcement came as the government was also cutting spending in other areas, including education and child care.

The new measures are part of a larger package of measures announced in the budget on Monday aimed at reducing spending by $5.3 billion over three years, according to the spokesperson.

“These measures will help us achieve the $4 billion reduction in the 2018-19 fiscal year by reducing the number of government programs, the number and types of government services, and the types of contracts awarded by government agencies,” said the spokesperson, adding the measures are being implemented as part of the government-wide restructuring of government operations.

The first of these measures is the government closing more than 200 public hospitals, including hospitals in Ottawa, Montreal and Gatineau, as part, the spokesperson said.

The other measures are targeted at improving the efficiency of the services delivered to Canadians, including a plan to reduce spending on legal aid and employment and family services by about 50 per cent over three to four years.

These measures will also be applied to the government of Canada, including the provinces and territories, which have all been in the red in recent years.

A total of $1 billion of the savings will be directed to the federal government.

The remaining $3.5 billion of savings will go towards capital projects.

The new measures will be implemented over three-year cycles.

“The government is reducing the size of government and the size and scope of its operations in order to bring the government into balance,” said a spokesperson for the spokesperson in a statement on Monday.

“There is a significant gap between what the government wants to spend and what it can afford to spend.

The changes announced today will address this gap and help ensure that Canadians have more certainty in what they are spending and what they can afford.”

These measures, along with a variety of other measures, will provide a much-needed injection of certainty to Canadians and help them focus on what they need to be doing and where they need the most help,” said Mr. Charette.

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