News Release – Liberals Cooking the Book Leaves a $5 Billion Hole

(Queen’s Park)  –  Today, Sylvia Jones MPP reacted to the release of the 2017 Ontario budget.

“The PC Party made several key asks of the Liberals for the 2017 budget including: taking action on the growing debt and ending the hydro crisis,” said Jones.

“Since the Liberals took office in 2003, they have increased the debt from $139 billion to $312 billion this year. The government is hiding a more than $5 billion operational deficit through cash grabs, one-time revenue like the selloff of Hydro One, and unauthorized pension assets, which the independent Auditor General said the government cannot count towards their bottom-line,” said Jones.

“After doubling the debt to $312 billion in just 14 years, the government is cooking the books a year before the election,” said Jones.

“The Liberals have also done nothing to address the systemic problems that have led to the hydro crisis: energy contracts we do not need, the selloff of Hydro One and out-of-control executive contracts,” said Jones.

“In the end, the province’s current debt levels are dragging down Ontario and mean that every Ontarian is on the hook for enough money to buy a new car. Ontario still owes over $300 billion to its lenders, an amount which, according to the independent Financial Accountability Officer, is set to grow by an additional $70 billion by 2020.” said Jones.