Deficit dance

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced this morning that the provincial deficit for 2011-2012 is $13 billion – $3 billion less than forecast.

Tory Finance critic Peter Shurman just walked around with chart showing Ontario still has a larger deficit that all other provinces combined.
(Alberta $23 million; PEI $79 million; NS, $248 million; Manitoba, 1.124; BC. $1.84 billion; Quebec $3.3 billion.)

Methinks the government is doing some serious management of expectations. If they’re doing so well containing costs, why the haste to return the House to deal with teacher pay freeze?

One minute we’re drowning in debt. The next, everything is rosy. Which one is it?