By Doug Draper
Virtually every provincial program, including health care and education, could be the targets for possible cuts as Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government aims to beat down a projected $16.7-billion budget deficit for the coming year.
Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan
Whatever cuts are made, including the elimination over the next two years of 1,500 public sector jobs, the government will try to make them without applying “a slash-and-burn approach,” Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan after tabling the McGuinty government’s latest budget this March 29 and possibly the last one before this coming October’s provincial elections.
‘Slash and burn’ was a phrase many critics, including the Liberals, tagged on the former Conservative government of Mike Harris when it made numerous deep cuts to environment, education and other programs across the province in the mid-to-lake 1990s. While clearly trying to assure the public there will be no repeat of a scenario like that, the McGuinty Liberals are nevertheless undertaking a review of all programs with an eye to finding areas where they believe cuts can be made without compromising the quality of front-line services.
We have a responsible plan to eliminate the deficit while protecting schools, hospitals and economic growth,” stated Duncan in a media release.” This requires even more reform in the way government works to ensure we get better value for money. The alternative — across-the-board program cuts — would reverse the significant gains Ontarians have achieved in health care and education, and would undermine the province’s economic competitiveness. ”
The NDP and other critics are already expressing concern that the province may move to privatize more services, including some in the health care area, to achieve the amount of cuts necessary to draw down the budget.
Indeed, Ontario’s latest budget, along with plans to take a knife to public service jobs and programs, is in line with what is unfolding across the boarder in New York State and other jurisdictions in North America where cuts (and in some cases drastic ones) are being made to schools, hospitals, policing and other services.
You can learn more about Ontario’s latest budget by clicking on some of the following link – http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/2011/index.html
(We encourage you to share your comments below on the budget and to visit Niagara At Large at www.niagaraatlarge.com for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
The Mc.Guinty government after a trashing our Health system, making a hash of an energy plan which was a dogs dinner with no real direction. every thing was one giant party over at the OLG, nothing done on the enviromental scene, our waters Ontario and Erie are poisonous and past the tipping point, we are drinking toxins and gender bending chemicals,and after giving fancy wages to their political cronies, the Liberals need a kick in the rear.this fall.
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Where can they make cuts without compromising frontline services?
That’s easy….cut from the top.
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They claim to have made “significant gains” in health care???
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Start in your own back yards by cutting back “your own salaries and perks” like say the 25% you gave yourselves two or three years ago. If I remember correctly the only party that voted against that manna from the stressed taxpayers was the NDP
Hey could that be they are concerned about the plight of the blue collared, the sick and disabled and not the Corporate sector especially the millionaires bankers and high flying CEOs??????
But then again the Blue Collared, the Sick and the Disabled cannot set them up in the Corporate Sector after the people finally had it up to the proverbial neck….
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