A.G. Report A Case Study – More Spending, Less Results: Wilson
12 December 2012
QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario can set a course for balanced budgets and better value for taxpayers, but only under a team of strong fiscal managers led by Tim Hudak, PC House Leader Jim Wilson said today.
Wilson’s comments follow the release of the Ontario Auditor General’s 2012 Report – another catalogue of misspending, poor oversight and wasteful programs under the current government.
“Our New Deal for the Public Sector argues that just because government runs something, doesn’t mean it’s going to be run well,” Wilson said. “Again this year, the Auditor General offers proof that we’re right.”
Evidence of mismanagement includes three especially troubling examples, Wilson noted: “First, the government wasted $24 million on a diabetes registry that wouldn’t work and was scrapped.
Second, at a potential cost of $700 million, the Presto transit card will be among the most costly in the world. But there is still no integrated transit fare system – which is what Presto is for.”
Third, Wilson said, is the Drive Clean program, which took $30 million from the pockets of motorists last year, while contributing little to recent reductions in vehicle emissions.
Other examples of more money spent for fewer results include:
• Ontario Provincial Police costs are up 27 per cent over five years. The number of calls to the OPP haven’t changed over that time
• The number of people on the Long-Term Care home waiting list went up 85 per cent. The number of LTC beds increased just three per cent
• The cost of the Youth Justice Services program is up 25 per cent. The number of young people served has gone up just four per cent, and
• The number of Crown Attorneys has doubled. The number of criminal charges handled by them is unchanged
Overspending and mismanagement puts everything we value at risk, like health care, education and strong transportation networks, Wilson said. “We agree with the Auditor General: Tough times demand tough choices. A Tim Hudak government will be clear and honest about our priorities – and we will deliver on them.”