Article content continued

Wynne and Finance Minister Charles Sousa have repeatedly insisted they’ve charted a sound and responsible plan to achieve “fiscal responsibility” and a balanced budget by 2024.

Wake’s report suggests that won’t happen without deep and painful spending cuts.

“Based on the FAO’s analysis, severely restraining the growth in program spending, below the pace of population growth and price inflation, could lead to a balanced budget by 2025-26,” Wake wrote in his Economic and Budget Outlook for Spring 2018.

“However, this plan implies that the province would have to lower spending by approximately $15 billion, or 8%, by 2025-26,” he wrote.

And the Liberals plan to start “dramatically” cutting spending right after the election.

“The (government’s) fiscal recovery plan provides few policy specifics, but assumes that the government will dramatically cut spending growth from an average of 4.2% over the next three years, to just 2.1% from 2020-21 to 2025-26,” Wake wrote.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

The eventual 8% or $15 billion cut in government spending they’ll need to make to balance their books will profoundly impact core government services – health care, education, transit, social programs as well as public sector jobs.

How can they not?

The Liberals have suggested Ontario PC leader Doug Ford will devastate public services with his promise to find efficiencies and reduce government spending by half that amount.

Wynne suggested in a March 11 tweet that Ford’s $6.4 billion promise “to kill carbon pricing and rush to balance the budget will put as many as 40,000 public sector jobs at risk. That means higher class sizes, longer waits for healthcare and fewer community supports.”