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Ontario Finance Minister calls on MPPs to think beyond the election cycle, then contradicts his own advice.
We can stop waiting for the recovery. It has come and gone. We’ve moved from the old normal of steady economic growth, with jobs that paid enough to live on and rising wages; into a new normal of fitful growth, global uncertainty, constrained government revenues and a long, slow exodus of 2 million baby boomers from the workforce.
This was the picture painted by Finance Minister Charles Sousa in his long-term report on the Ontario economy, presented to the legislative assembly last week.
Over the next 20 years, he expects cyclical ups and downs, shock waves from abroad, brief windfalls at home and new technologies that will change the economic landscape. But the overall trajectory will be flatter than it has ever been in our lives.
To put that in numbers, Ontario’s economy will grow at an average annual rate of 2.1 per cent a year between now and 2035. That is slower than the rest of Canada (2.2 per cent), slower than the United States (2.4 per cent) and slower than the global average (3.1 per cent). “We need to start thinking beyond election cycles,” Sousa told MPPs.
Barely were the words out of his mouth, however, when he delivered pre-election blasts at both opposition parties. “This is not a time for reckless cuts that Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives are advocating for nor is it a time for the inexperience of the New Democratic Party.”
The rest of his economic report consisted of a glowing review of the Liberal record and a vow to stay the course, which means more belt-tightening, more incentives to private companies, incremental improvements in the province’s aging infrastructure and a continued focus on health and education, at the expense of all other programs.
It was meant as a prelude to Sousa’s May 1 budget, much of which has been leaked. He will announce an urban transit funding plan, a break for hydro consumers, new highways, better services for people with disabilities, OHIP coverage for in vitro fertilization and a light-rail line through NDP Leader Andrea Horwath’s riding. Despite the $5.7-billion price tag, he will stay on track to balance the budget in 2017-18.
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http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/04/08/ontario_confronts_pinched_new_normal_goar.html