Ontario Cuts
Posted Jan 5, 2012 05:35:13 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nothing and no one will be spared according to economist Don Drummond, who is looking over the numbers of the Ontario government. He was commissioned last year to do a report, which should wind up on the Premier’s desk by the end of this month and then the public will get a clear look….and it won’t be pretty.
Some departments could face cuts of up to 30 percent over the next several years, although education and health care will be somewhat spared.
Drummond tells the Toronto Star that right now, the province will not meet it’s balanced budget target of 2017-2018.
He forecasts massive changes with everything from employment counselling to social services possibly being farmed out to the private sector.
The corporate sector also goes under the microscope and could see the $2 billion in tax breaks and handouts disappear. Looking at health care, Drummond was shocked to find that half of all health care spending is eaten up by 1 percent of the population.
Post secondary education is also looking at re-organization.
While tax hikes are not part of his mandate, Drummond does say that’s a discussion the public needs to have.
