Sheila Block, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said the review presents spending and debt figures out of context and doesn't take into account events like the global recession that occurred during the Liberals' time in office.

"This was an ideological document and it set the stage for reducing the role and scope of government," she said. "It left a big option to deal with Ontario government debt and deficits off the table, which is to increase tax revenues."

Block said the review buries the fact that Ontario's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio has remained relatively stable in recent years, a key measure when it comes to the province's ability to carry and potentially repay the balance.

"A debt number on its own doesn't mean anything," she said. "If it was PEI that had Ontario's debt level, that would be a lot more serious than if it's Ontario."

Block said she will be watching the government's upcoming Fall Economic Statement to see what it does with the report recommendations.

"To claim you can cut taxes, that you can maintain services and maintain employment while at the same time cutting government expenditures, that arithmetic doesn't work," she said.

NDP deputy leader Sara Singh said the review suggests the government is preparing to cut and privatize public assets.

"What the report is telling us ... is this government is committed to making deep cuts," she said. "We're not sure where those cuts are going to be, whether they're going to be to health care or education but I think they're really setting the stage to make those cuts."

The Liberal caucus said in a statement Tuesday that the report confirms their government kept public sector costs down while increasing transfer payments to hospitals, schools and municipalities.

"Doug Ford should be focused on governing, not campaigning," it said. "Doug Ford inherited a government that kept internal spending to effectively zero."

Ontario Public Service Employee Union President Warren "Smokey" Thomas said the review is a sign of a "political tsunami" ahead for the 155,000 workers his group represents.

"At OPSEU we don't pick fights, but when it comes to protecting our vital public services, the communities that rely on them, and those on the frontlines, we'll never back down from one either," he said.

The results of the review were announced a day after Ford revealed plans for a special committee to dig further into the province's fiscal situation, while slamming his predecessor's handling of Ontario's books.

By Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press