QUEEN’S PARK, ON — Stephanie Bowman, MPP for Don Valley West and the Finance Critic of the Ontario Liberal Party, has released the following statement in response to the Economic and Budget Outlook (EBO) released today by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO):
“Today’s report from the Financial Accountability Office confirms what we already know: the economy of Ontario is on shaky ground. With unemployment projected to rise in 2024 and job creation slowing, it is clear that the government’s expensive advertising campaign to tell Ontarians how great things are was far-fetched – and a waste of taxpayer money. Never has a government spent so much to deliver so little.”
“While this government spends record amounts on adding expensive staffers to prop up a Premier who has just put out the biggest budget in Ontario’s history, Ontarians are not seeing the benefits.” “The FAO’s chief economist has been clear: Ontario’s economy is facing the ‘slowest nonrecession growth over a two-year period going back to the 1980s.’ This Conservative government is fiscally irresponsible and is failing to manage the finances of our province.”
“Ontario Liberals are putting forward real solutions to help the people of Ontario, to create more housing, to improve public transit and to support small business owners, who have been ignored by this government. It’s time this government started spending more time on solving the problems they’ve created and less time helping their insider friends. It’s time to stop the gravy train.”