GOLDBERG: Ford’s finance minister’s record is bad and getting worse #CashNews.co

Article content

Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy has been in charge of the budget for nearly four years. What does his record look like? Here’s a hint: it ain’t pretty.

Article content

Bethlenfalvy took over the finance gig in December 2020.

Excluding pandemic-related spending, Bethlenfalvy tabled a $179.4-billion spending plan for fiscal year 2021-22. In that same budget, he laid out the Ford government’s spending plans for the next three years.

Did Bethlenfalvy meet his targets? Not by a country mile.

In year one, Bethlenfalvy overspent by $3.6 billion.

Then he really cranked up the spending machine.

Bethlenfalvy overspent by $15.4 billion in year two, $21.7 billion in year three, and he’s on course to overspend by $25.3 billion in year four.

Add those numbers together, and Bethlenfalvy will have overspent by $66 billion in just four years on the job.

Compare his record to that of New Brunswick Finance Minister Ernie Steeves, who has been in office two years longer than Bethlenfalvy and decreased his province’s debt rather than increased it.

Article content

Article content

Had Bethlenfalvy stuck to his 2021 plans, the budget would have been balanced in each of the past four years, with healthy surpluses.

Imagine how much lower Ontarians’ tax bills could be today if Bethlenfalvy had stuck to his 2021 plan. Instead of facing a $9.8-billion deficit, Ontario would be looking at a $ 16.4-billion surplus.

With that much cash, Ontario could afford to cut the provincial portion of the HST by three percentage points and still have $4.1 billion left over.

Cutting the HST by three percentage points would give Ontario the second-lowest sales tax in the nation (Alberta doesn’t have one) and would leave an average of $1,400 in the pockets of Ontario families each and every year.

Unfortunately, Bethlenfalvy and Ford haven’t been able to resist the urge to spend.

Article content

The Ford government teamed up with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to give $50 billion in corporate welfare to wealthy auto giants like StellantisVolkswagen and the Ford Motor Company.

Bethlenfalvy and Ford are also blowing a bundle on Ontario Place renovations, including an estimated $300 to $600 million on a parking garage with access to a private spa.

And let’s not forget about the cost overruns of the government’s signature subway projects.

Estimates for the Ontario Line that will run through the heart of Toronto have gone up 43% since 2019. The project, originally pegged at $10.9 billion, is now estimated to cost $27.2 billion.

Those are just a few examples of Bethlenfalvy’s failure to mind the money.

Ontario is now the most indebted sub-sovereign entity in the world. A lot of that debt was piled up by previous finance ministers. But instead of changing course, Bethlenfalvy’s made it worse. Let that sink in.

Article content

When Bethlenfalvy took over, Ontario’s debt was $383 billion. By the end of this year, Bethlenfalvy expects it to hit $439 billion.

That means in just four short years, Bethlenfalvy will have added $56 billion of debt to the province’s bottom line. By any metric, that’s a lousy record.

Bethlenfalvy has done a lot of damage to Ontario’s fiscal health. But he can still make moves to right the ship.

First, Bethlenfalvy should stop digging. Right now, he’s planning a deficit of $8.8 billionexcluding the government’s $1-billion reserve fund. If the Ford government were to end all corporate welfare, it could save $9.1 billion and balance the budget.

From there, the Ford government could do a comprehensive spending review and finally whip the books into shape, which the Progressive Conservatives promised to do ahead of forming government in 2018.

There can be no doubt that Bethlenfalvy and the Ford government have been taking Ontario down a dangerous path. With two years left in its mandate, the Ford government must get Ontario’s finances pointed in the right direction.

Jay Goldberg is the Ontario Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Article content