Wynne Government Creating Structural Deficits: Fedeli

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario’s latest quarterly financial statement confirms that the government is artificially balancing the budget through the one-time sale of assets, only to see it plunge back into deficit, Nipissing MPP and Finance Critic Vic Fedeli said today.

This morning, the government released the province’s 2016-17 First Quarter Finances which indicate that projections for revenue, expenditures, and interest payments on debt for this fiscal year remain unchanged from the 2016 Budget.

“This confirms what we’ve been saying for months – the government is using one-time money from asset sales, contingency funds and tax increases to artificially balance the budget in an election year,” said Fedeli.  

“The Financial Accountability Officer’s latest report states very clearly that Ontario’s net debt will continue to rise due to annual deficits from 2018-19 to 2020-21,” Fedeli continued.

The quarterly financial statement also confirms that interest payment on debt will total nearly $11.8 billion this fiscal year, making it the province’s third single largest expense behind only public education and health care. The FAO has previously indicated that the province’s net debt is set to rise by over $50 billion by 2020-21 to a record $350 billion.

“Ontario now pays more on interest payments than it does towards either post-secondary education or community safety. It’s clear that the Wynne government has created soaring structural deficits and record levels of mounting debt with no plan to get the province’s fiscal house back in order.”  

“For Ontario taxpayers, the Wynne government’s waste and mismanagement means less funding for our education system, more cuts to frontline healthcare services, and no tax relief,” concluded Fedeli.