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Do numbers – especially government numbers – lie?

One of two audits ordered by Premier Doug Ford’s ministers this week is supposed to settle a long-standing dispute as to the true state of Ontario’s finances.

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A second line-by-line budget audit is expected to come with a path back to balanced books by offering up savings or cuts, depending on one’s point of view.

Peter Bethlenfalvy, president of the Treasury Board, said the line-by-line audit will provide an “open, thorough and transparent” look at all the ways the government spends money.

“All provincial programs, including provincial agencies and transfer payment programs are within the scope of the review,” Bethlenfalvy said. “The results of the line-by-line review will be used to develop a responsible plan to achieve efficiencies and deliver results for taxpayers.”

AUDIT ONE

What: Independent Financial Commission will examine Ontario’s public financing and government accounting practices, hopefully settling a dispute with Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk who says the previous Kathleen Wynne government’s treatment of pension funds and its Fair Hydro Plan was an accounting no-no and understated this year’s annual operating deficit by $5 billion. The Commission will also look back over 15 years of Liberal government spending practices.