MEDIA RELEASE
FAO SAYS GOVERNMENT’S PLAN TO BALANCE
RELIES ON OPTIMISTIC ASSUMPTIONS
TORONTO, November 28, 2016 – Ontario’s Temporary Financial Accountability Officer, the Honourable J. David Wake, released a commentary Assessing Ontario’s Fiscal Outlook providing the FAO’s assessment of the Government’s fiscal plan, as presented in the 2016 Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review (FES).
Based on the FAO’s analysis of the FES, the Province’s plan to balance the budget continues to rely on optimistic assumptions for revenue growth and program spending restraint. As a result, there is significant risk that the government may not be able to eliminate the deficit in 2017-18, nor maintain budget balance going forward.
However, the government has a variety of tools that it could use to temporarily improve the budget balance. Beyond 2017-18, maintaining a balanced budget will likely require additional measures to raise revenues or reduce expenses.
Read the FAO’s report here.
About the FAO
Established by the Financial Accountability Officer Act, 2013, the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) provides independent analysis on the state of the Province's finances, trends in the provincial economy and related matters important to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Visit our website at www.fao-on.org and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/InfoFAO.
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For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Kismet Baun l (416) 254-9232 l kbaun@fao-on.org l fao-on.org
