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2002-03 Ontario Alternative Budget

Report by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Following the 2002-03 Government of Ontario budget, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released its Ontario Alternative Budget. The Alternative Budget asserts public spending on programs and capital improvements has dropped 15.1 percent under seven years of Conservative governments in Ontario. In addition, it is suggested that the Government of Ontario has wiped out a “substantial portion” of its revenue base through tax cuts, choosing to reduce taxes before balancing the provincial budget. The result of these spending and tax cuts is what the Ontario Alternative Budget terms a public service deficit of “crisis proportions.”

In response to this deficit, the Ontario Alternative Budget calls for: a) a reinvestment of just over $11 billion in public service operations and capital; b) immediately confronting crises in areas of social assistance, health care, education, housing, child care, and environmental protection; c) multiple year investments to put the public service “back on track;” d) an increase in personal tax rates; and, e) a cessation of corporate tax rate cuts. The Alternative Budget concludes with commentary on the contrast between its proposals and those of the official 2002-03 budget.

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Policy Publication Details

Author(s):	Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives;
Publisher:	Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [ Visit Website ]
Year Published:	2002;	Publisher Type:	Research Institute
Publicly Available:	Yes	Research Focus:	Provincial;
Registration Required:	No	Language:	English
Payment Required:	No	Publication Format:	Adobe PDF

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Subjects / Categories:

Policy Articles / Fiscal & Budgetary / Federal & Provincial Budget
Policy Articles / Fiscal & Budgetary
Policy Articles / Fiscal & Budgetary / Federal & Provincial Budget / 2002

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Keywords / Tags:

Ontario; budget; alternative budget; Conservative government; revenue base; tax cuts; public spending; reinvestment; funding crisis;