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McGuinty plans cuts to balance Ontario's books
By GLORIA GALLOWAY
From Friday's Globe and Mail
POSTED AT 2:43 AM EST         Friday, Jan. 9, 2004
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Toronto — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty plans to balance his spring budget by reducing government programs, selling public assets, taking a tough line on public-sector wage deals and making Ontarians pay for some services they now get for free.
“We simply cannot deliver on all the responsibilities that we've assumed to date and deliver well,†Mr. McGuinty told The Globe and Mail's editorial board yesterday.
He would not specify what services will be cut and what assets will be on the block, but would not rule out the sale of such businesses as TVOntario and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. And he raised the possibility that some programs, including seniors' drug benefits, could be discontinued.
The Ontario Liberals, who campaigned on promises not to raise taxes or operate in the red, must eliminate an estimated $5.6-billion deficit this year, a financial albatross some say will require spending cuts of $2-billion. Mr. McGuinty, who reiterated his pledge to hold the line on taxes, said the budget will be balanced by setting priorities with measurable outcomes, then choosing which are affordable.
“We're going to design our budget in an entirely new way,†he said. “I am going to bring results-based budgeting to Canada for the first time.â€
The choice will be guided by a survey of the 63,000-member civil service that is under way and a public consultation process that could begin later this month.
The list of assets and services that the government is willing to scrap will be made available to groups of randomly selected Ontarians who will meet in about eight communities to debate what is expendable, a process Mr. McGuinty called a “citizens dialogue.†There will also be town hall meetings, a website for suggestions and a phone hot line.
“One of the discussions that we are going to have with the people of Ontario are universal programs, some of the things we are now providing to people regardless of their income or their personal wealth,†he said.
That would include programs not mandated under the Canada Health Act for which the province now pays. The drug benefit program is one, Mr. McGuinty said. Other such services include treatment at stand-alone physiotherapy clinics, devices such as hearing aids, work performed by community laboratories and substance-abuse programs.
When asked whether existing roads could be privatized or turned into toll routes, Mr. McGuinty said he will put a workbook before the people participating in the citizens dialogues and solicit their advice.
“There is an entire range of opportunities to be found there, businesses that we are in that could be run by the private sector,†he said.
When it was pointed out that the liquor board generates massive revenues for the province and selling it could ultimately prove costly, the Premier said he is looking at ways to turn any asset sale into a long-term source of funds.
Mr. McGuinty said stopping a 20-year cycle of “spend, deficit, cut†is his ultimate goal. “I don't believe in hacking and slashing,†he said, pointing out that firing every government employee would reduce spending by less than the amount of the current deficit.
But he does intend to take a hard line on wage negotiations and said he has already told the public service that large pay increases are not going to be on the table.
Nor can the province's doctors, nurses and teachers expect their salaries to rise considerably.
“I am going to ask them to temper their request, given the fiscal context and given the difficult choices that we have to make,†he said. “I am hoping through this public engagement exercise to better educate Ontarians about the nature of the challenge before us ... so, if we get a request for a dramatic increase in compensation, it's seen as such — dramatic, unreasonable and unacceptable.â€
In setting spending priorities, Mr. McGuinty said, the province will not abandon education, health care, protection of the environment or social-support programs.
When told that his plan to balance the budget through spending cuts and asset sales was reminiscent of the proposals of former premier Mike Harris and his Common Sense Revolution, he said his priorities and those of Mr. Harris are polar opposites.
“What I want to do on a day-to-day basis is make the case for government. The last guys were never interested in making a case for government.â€
© 2003 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
By GLORIA GALLOWAY
From Friday's Globe and Mail
POSTED AT 2:43 AM EST         Friday, Jan. 9, 2004
Advertisement
Toronto — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty plans to balance his spring budget by reducing government programs, selling public assets, taking a tough line on public-sector wage deals and making Ontarians pay for some services they now get for free.
“We simply cannot deliver on all the responsibilities that we've assumed to date and deliver well,†Mr. McGuinty told The Globe and Mail's editorial board yesterday.
He would not specify what services will be cut and what assets will be on the block, but would not rule out the sale of such businesses as TVOntario and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. And he raised the possibility that some programs, including seniors' drug benefits, could be discontinued.
The Ontario Liberals, who campaigned on promises not to raise taxes or operate in the red, must eliminate an estimated $5.6-billion deficit this year, a financial albatross some say will require spending cuts of $2-billion. Mr. McGuinty, who reiterated his pledge to hold the line on taxes, said the budget will be balanced by setting priorities with measurable outcomes, then choosing which are affordable.
“We're going to design our budget in an entirely new way,†he said. “I am going to bring results-based budgeting to Canada for the first time.â€
The choice will be guided by a survey of the 63,000-member civil service that is under way and a public consultation process that could begin later this month.
The list of assets and services that the government is willing to scrap will be made available to groups of randomly selected Ontarians who will meet in about eight communities to debate what is expendable, a process Mr. McGuinty called a “citizens dialogue.†There will also be town hall meetings, a website for suggestions and a phone hot line.
“One of the discussions that we are going to have with the people of Ontario are universal programs, some of the things we are now providing to people regardless of their income or their personal wealth,†he said.
That would include programs not mandated under the Canada Health Act for which the province now pays. The drug benefit program is one, Mr. McGuinty said. Other such services include treatment at stand-alone physiotherapy clinics, devices such as hearing aids, work performed by community laboratories and substance-abuse programs.
When asked whether existing roads could be privatized or turned into toll routes, Mr. McGuinty said he will put a workbook before the people participating in the citizens dialogues and solicit their advice.
“There is an entire range of opportunities to be found there, businesses that we are in that could be run by the private sector,†he said.
When it was pointed out that the liquor board generates massive revenues for the province and selling it could ultimately prove costly, the Premier said he is looking at ways to turn any asset sale into a long-term source of funds.
Mr. McGuinty said stopping a 20-year cycle of “spend, deficit, cut†is his ultimate goal. “I don't believe in hacking and slashing,†he said, pointing out that firing every government employee would reduce spending by less than the amount of the current deficit.
But he does intend to take a hard line on wage negotiations and said he has already told the public service that large pay increases are not going to be on the table.
Nor can the province's doctors, nurses and teachers expect their salaries to rise considerably.
“I am going to ask them to temper their request, given the fiscal context and given the difficult choices that we have to make,†he said. “I am hoping through this public engagement exercise to better educate Ontarians about the nature of the challenge before us ... so, if we get a request for a dramatic increase in compensation, it's seen as such — dramatic, unreasonable and unacceptable.â€
In setting spending priorities, Mr. McGuinty said, the province will not abandon education, health care, protection of the environment or social-support programs.
When told that his plan to balance the budget through spending cuts and asset sales was reminiscent of the proposals of former premier Mike Harris and his Common Sense Revolution, he said his priorities and those of Mr. Harris are polar opposites.
“What I want to do on a day-to-day basis is make the case for government. The last guys were never interested in making a case for government.â€
© 2003 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
