For Immediate Release
December 7, 2009

Auditor Questions Government Spending

TORONTO – Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford, said that the report released today by Ontario Auditor General, Jim McArthur, confirms that provincial government spending is still out of control.

“Today’s report is further evidence that Dalton McGuinty is allowing taxpayer’s dollars to be wasted instead of providing the services that Ontarians need,” said Hardeman. “Over the last few years we have seen record tax increases, record deficits and no noticeable improvement in the services that taxpayers need.”

In his report the Auditor General cited a number of examples of fiscal mismanagement including:

1. Excessive prices paid for assistive devices due to a lack of oversight;
2. 40% of contracts given to consultants with OntarioBuys did not comply with competitive procurement requirements; and
3. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board’s unfunded liability which has grown steadily since 2001 and now stands at $11 billion.

“Today’s larger report by the Auditor General confirms what we learned from the eHealth probe,” said Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak. “After six years in office the rot of scandal and mismanagement runs deep throughout the McGuinty government.”

In his report the Auditor General said that the government must begin to spend taxpayer’s money like it was their own.

“The McGuinty government has forgotten that each of these tax dollars was earned by a hard-working Ontarian and that many of them are already struggling to make ends meet,” said Hardeman. “Government needs to be more accountable with taxpayer’s hard-earned money  -  and not treat taxpayers like an ATM machine.”

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For more information, contact:
Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford
(416) 325-1239