Only in Dalton McGuinty’s Ontario would someone be pleased with a $21-billion deficit, said Nepean-Carleton Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod.
Since McGuinty took office, the average household share of the provincial debt has risen from around $30,000 to nearly $60,000, said MacLeod.
“My question to voters in Ottawa and anyone in the region is, ‘do you feel you are getting that $30,000 value today,’” said MacLeod.
Mayor Larry O’Brien acknowledged that the record deficit left the province with limited options to support municipalities in the budget, and expressed concern future plans to reduce the deficit could come at the expense of important municipal projects such as social housing, transit and public health.
