Ontario’s finance minister is questioning the former Liberal government’s budget practices.
Vic Fedeli says an independent review of the province’s finances has found inconsistencies in what the previous government claimed.
He says they now have a deficit of $15 billion much more than the previous government was saying. He says they were reporting $6.7 billion.

“They misled the people of Ontario in that number but last year they said they would balance the books and in fact they said they would have a $600,000 surplus,” Fedeli says.

When in reality he says the public account shows a $3.7 billion deficit.

Fedeli was asked what impact this is going to be for Ontario taxpayers.

“The premier has been very clear. He said again today I don’t believe in cuts. I believe in efficiencies and that’s what we will continue to look for. How do we do things better?” he says.

Meantime, NDP Deputy Leader John Vanthof said that instead of standing up for families in Nipissing, Fedeli sided with Doug Ford and agreed to yank away $8.6 million in funding for a project to extend natural gas service.

Fedeli says the previous program was taxpayer money now gas companies can do the expansions on their own and he expects them to announce details in the coming weeks.

Filed under: Finance Minister Vic Fedeli