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Dalton McGuinty’s austerity agenda began in earnest with a speech he delivered to the Canadian Club last January in which he said, “it is simply not possible to reduce spending without addressing salary expenditures.”

But after the Ontario Premier’s surprise resignation, and as Mr. McGuinty’s Cabinet colleagues past and present consider runs at the provincial party leadership, it’s possible his austerity plan expired with his leadership on Monday night.

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Dwight Duncan, the Finance Minister, released a statement on Tuesday afternoon that welcomed news that union leaders were willing to negotiate with the government on possible wage freezes now that the man they had branded as “worse than Harris” had removed himself from the picture.

“We will work with anyone who is willing to work with us to eliminate the deficit and protect jobs and public services,” Mr. Duncan said. “The McGuinty government has always preferred this approach.”