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Ontario budget March 26 and $10B deficit possible
TheStar.com - Ontario - Ontario budget March 26 and $10B deficit possible

February 19, 2009
Robert Benzie
Queen's Park Bureau Chief

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will table a recession-fighting provincial budget awash in red ink on March 26.

Duncan made the announcement to reporters at Queen's Park this morning following question period.

The treasurer, who has been under fire for delaying the spending plan's release by a month from an original target of late February, emphasized that the timing is not unusual.

"It's actually one of the earliest dates ever. So it's not late at all," he said.

The budget is expected to eclipse the $100 billion mark for the first time ever with a deficit of as much as $10 billion. In contrast, last year's budget was a $96.3 billion spending plan with a $500 millionshortfall.

While Premier Dalton McGuinty has admitted there will be "a significant deficit," Duncan refused to discuss any details.

"We will have new initiatives aimed at dealing with the changes not only since the last budget but since the last fall statement," he said without mentioning specifics.


http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/590045

   

looks like the collapse of once mighty Ontario continues under Mcguintys leadership .

   

Yup. All McGuinty's fault. The unprecedented shitstorm going on to the south has NOTHING to do with it.

   

yup, just like it's all Harper's fault and will be when the next election rolls around.

   

Ontario budget March 26
deficit as high as $10 billion
Posted By THE CANADIAN PRESS
Posted 4 days ago


Ontario residents will learn the provincial government's plans to deal with the battered economy when Finance Minister Dwight Duncan delivers his budget March 26.

The budget is expected to include a deficit of as much as $10 billion as well as investments in infrastructure and the auto sector.

"We will have new initiatives in this budget aimed at dealing with the changes, not only since the last budget, since the last fall statement,'' Duncan said Thursday, declining to provide further details.

He also defended the delayed release of the budget, which has angered the opposition parties, who were hoping for an early push on infrastructure and job stimulus to help struggling workers.

"There have been enormous changes since the fall statement,'' Duncan said. "There are still a number of the issues that we'll need to deal with in the coming budget that we're still getting some numbers on, so I think it's quite timely and quite appropriate.''

Premier Dalton McGuinty was initially optimistic about how the province will fare in the current economic storm, with the government projecting a $500-million deficit in the budget.

SEVERAL YEARS

However, McGuinty has since warned Ontario will be in the red for several years, starting with a "significant'' deficit in the spring budget - expected to exceed $10 billion.

Yet despite staring down a multibillion-dollar deficit, McGuinty seems unwilling to make the tough calls needed to manage it, argued Opposition Leader Bob Runciman.

"Right across the spectrum, whether it's teachers or whatever else, he's saying, 'We're not going to touch that. We're going to go ahead with that,''' Runciman said.

"He should be out there inspiring people through leadership, to say, 'Come on board, we all have to be part of the solution.'''

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Runciman said the biggest concern if McGuinty tries to spend his way out of the recession is the possibility of falling into a structural deficit.

"We're hearing rumours of $10 billion plus of deficit, which takes us back to the NDP era,'' he said.

"Our kids and grandkids will be facing that burden for years and years to come.''

In the legislature Thursday, McGuinty pointed to infrastructure investments announced over the last few weeks as a sign that his government is taking steps to help the economy now.

"We're not waiting for our budget to do things,'' McGuinty said.

http://www.standard-freeholder.com/Arti ... e=1443351&

   

Yup, that's it ryan. Don't try and make any point of your own, just keep C&Ping more articles into the thread.

   

Nope, Harper will only be blamed if he pulls a 'Bennett' and buries his head in the sand, hoping things will get better.

His fiscal stimulus package could go a long way to diffusing the deficit time bomb he himself created (by jacking up spending and cutting taxes at the same time).

   

Yeah, but Harper's not to blame for his deficit right?

Same with Honest Ed here in Alberta...

   

nope..the tax savings are in my pocket

what deficit in Alberta? or is it you're blaming Stelmach for the economic downfall?

poor lefties reality sucks doesn't it.

   

but ontario's economy has been in trouble long before the recent economic uncertainy on wall street . dalton has had a couple of years to come up with a plan to deal with things and he has not and it continues to get worse . if he can't solve this economic uncertainty facing the province then its time he goes .

   

Right.



Well, I'd say that Alberta is a special case. We keep gleefully squandering our energy booms while raving about ridiculously low taxes (which have turned out to be too good to be true), with absolutely no foresight. Ed himself might be accorded a pass, but we should have been able to ride out at least one year of this if Klein hadn't been a complete douchebag and treated the royalites like disposable income and saved jack squat.

   

And replace him with who, the guy who can't even win his own seat?

   

Since Ont has been the hardest province hit due to the downturn in manufacturing, I don't think this has allot to do with the sitting government.

It's hard to predict the auto industry tanking as well as the rest of the world's economies.

   

http://www.calgaryherald.com/cars/Alber ... story.html

Sounds like a deficit to me. The only difference is we're planning on using our savings account to pay for our profligate ways, instead of reducing spending. But then hey, soon we can produce another bumper sticker;

Please God, give us a THIRD Boom and we promise not to piss is away yet again!

I never said if was Ed's fault, anymore than I said it was Harper's fault. The only one casting blame here is Ryan29 on those awful Ontario Liberals.

   

so Alberta should cut spending while the rest of the world does the opposite in an attempt to stimulate the economy? Alberta is short of infrastructure now is the time to build it.

You can start your crying after we're in the hole not before. at this rate it might take 7 years.

Too bad ole Ralph always kept the one promise he got elected on..kill the debt. Terrible how dare a politician do such thing

   

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