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The negative implications of a large debt load include debt-servicing costs diverting funding away from other government programs, greater vulnerability to interest rate increases and potential credit-rating downgrades which could lead to higher borrowing costs in the future, the report stated.

To put those implications into perspective, Lysyk’s report pointed out that the government now spends more on debt interest than it does on post-secondary education, and those interest costs are growing.

“Our commentary on Ontario’s increasing debt has attracted little public attention. We believe one reason for this is primarily because of the focus placed on first eliminating Ontario’s annual deficit,” Lysyk wrote.

“Ultimately the question of how much debt the province should carry and the strategies that would be used by the government to pay down its debt is one of government policy. However, this should not prevent the government from providing information that promotes further understanding of the issue.”

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In particular, Lysyk’s report recommends the government provide more information on how it plans to achieve its target of reducing its net debt-to-GDP ratio to its pre-recession level of 27 per cent.

The provincial net debt-to-GDP ratio — a key indicator of the government’s financial ability to carry its debt relative to the size of the economy — is projected to reach a high of 40.5 per cent in 2015-16, after which the government expects it to decline, the report noted.