Ontario is facing a severe deficit/debt crisis – a reality that led to the appointment of a commission to identify appropriate measures to reduce the growth of public spending to a course that would allow fiscal balance by 2017-18.
The recommendations produced by the committee have a natural relevance to circumstances that prevail in Atlantic Canada and many could be usefully adopted as a means of addressing severe shortfalls in the region. This commentary emphasizes the importance of Atlantic Canada adopting similar measures to those recommended in the Drummond Report. The result could be a dramatic turnaround in the region.
The most important underlying recommendations are that measures undertaken should be consistent with sustaining excellence in public sector service delivery and that the actions taken should be designed to achieve a permanent shift in the delivery service model that would not be liable to catch-up unwinding after initial achievement. The report emphasizes that there are numerous ways of providing quality service at lower costs and that identifying these will result in a lasting restructuring of government services.
In An Atlantic Canadian Perspective on The Drummond Report, AIMS Research Director Don McIver highlights the most important conclusion of the report for both Ontario and Atlantic Canada: when it comes to addressing the problems of debt and deficits, achieving objectives by “growing out” of the problem is not possible.
Click here to read the full commentary.
