Study
| EST. READ TIME 1 MIN.Ontario can balance budget while also cutting taxes
Restoring Ontario's Public Finances
Ontario’s public finances have deteriorated over the last few decades as chronic deficits have led to mounting public debt. Nevertheless, the situation can be repaired—and relatively more quickly than might be imagined.
Restoring Ontario’s Public Finances finds that restoring balance to Ontario’s finances requires taking responsibility and making a commitment to prudent financial management and discipline.
For the new government, this should mean quickly eliminating the budget deficit and then establishing a longer-term fiscal framework based on affordable spending targets and the application of resulting surpluses for pro-growth purposes or debt reduction. The benefits from such action will be increased business and investor confidence in the provincial economy and sustainable finances that will provide stability for important government programs in health, education, and infrastructure renewal.
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Livio Di Matteo
Professor of Economics, Lakehead University
Livio Di Matteo is a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute and Professor of Economics at Lakehead University in ThunderBay, Ontario, where he specializes in public policy and finance, health economics, and economic history. His most recent work examines value for money in health-care spending and the drivers and sustainability of health-care spending; fiscal economic history; and the historical evolution of economic inequality in Canada and internationally. Prof. Di Matteo is a member of the CIHI National Health Expenditure Advisory Panel and a contributor to Fraser Forum, the Fraser Institute’s blog, as well as his own policy blog, Northern Economist 2.0. His op-eds have appeared frequently in many newspapers across Canada including the Globe and Mail, National Post, Financial Post, Toronto Star, Winnipeg Free Press, Waterloo Region Record, and Hamilton Spectator. He has been listed in Canada’s Who’s Who since 1995 and holds a Ph.D. from McMaster University, an M.A. from the University of Western Ontario, and a B.A. from Lakehead University.… Read more -
Ben Eisen
Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
Ben Eisen is a Senior Fellow in Fiscal and Provincial Prosperity Studies and former Director of Provincial Prosperity Studies at theFraser Institute. He holds a BA from the University of Toronto and an MPP from the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute Mr. Eisen was the Director of Research and Programmes at the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies in Halifax. He also worked for the Citizens Budget Commission in New York City, and in Winnipeg as the Assistant Research Director for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Mr. Eisen has published influential studies on several policy topics, including intergovernmental relations, public finance, and higher education policy. He has been widely quoted in major newspapers including the National Post, Chronicle Herald, Winnipeg Free Press and Calgary Herald.… Read more