Writing in the Toronto Star, Michael Mendelsohn of the Caledon Institute for Social Policy observes that the relative size of Ontario’s deficit is not because of spending. In 2009-10, the Ontario government spent the lowest amount of any province per capita – $9,030, seven per cent less than ninth place British Columbia.
He cites the Drummond report and points out that 39 per cent of revenues flowing into federal coffers in 2009-10 were from Ontarians. The proportion is in keeping with Ontario’s share of the population.
But the share of federal expenditures going to Ontario and its citizens was only 34 per cent. The resulting revenue gap is $12.3 billion, or 77 per cent of the current deficit. For Mendelsohn, the consequences for Ontarians are clear: “Higher university tuitions, less infrastructure spending, more user fees.”
This article originally appeared in the OCUFA Report. To receive stories like this every week in your inbox, please subscribe.