Ford government sets up online ‘suggestion box’ on how to cut spending

Thestar.com
August 30, 2018
Rob Ferguson

Got an idea how Premier Doug Ford’s new government, which promised in the spring election campaign to cut spending by $6 billion a year without axing jobs, can provide public services better at lower cost?

An online “suggestion box” has been set up for three weeks so the public can make their views known, with civil servants being asked to join in and share their insider knowledge.

Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy says “it is important that Ontarians have a direct say in how government can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of provincial programs and services, while avoiding job cuts.”

No long-term, blue-sky thinkers, please. And don’t beg for money to make anything work.

Suggestions must be “feasible, practical and affordable for us to implement in the short term,” the website cautions, noting “your idea must not ask for funding.”

The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. It asks participants to rate the effectiveness and rank the priority they place on a wide variety of government services, from hospitals to schools, to child welfare, social assistance and more.

Choices range from very low priority to very high on the survey, which complements a line-by-line review of all government programs and services being conducted by an outside accounting firm.

There is space to list three big ideas, with room for 2,000 words of explanation on each. The website prominently notes the government’s key priorities, the top one being to reduce “the burden on taxpayers.”

“It is important that Ontarians have a direct say in how government can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of provincial programs and services, while avoiding job cuts,” said Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy.

“We will continue listening to the people of Ontario about what matters most to them, and we will use what we hear to ensure vital public services are affordable and sustainable, both now and in the years to come.”

The deadline for submissions to the website is Sept. 21.

 

“The Ford government’s review of public services appears to be the next step in his plan to make deep cuts, and privatize or sell off services that the people of Ontario count on,” NDP Deputy Leader Sara Singh said Thursday.

During this spring’s election campaign, Ford described the $6 billion in spending cuts as “efficiencies” at a level of four cents on every dollar the government spends.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath warned that Ontarians will feel a deeper pinch than that because Ford’s spending promises, such as income tax cuts, will also have to be paid for.

“People are pretty worried about what Doug Ford has in store, and so am I,” she told reporters in June, predicting that important services and programs would be cut.

“The majority of Ontarians did not vote for cuts to health care or layoffs to more nurses and more teachers or the privatization of the things that matter most to all of us,” added Horwath, who is now leader of the Official Opposition.

MPPs are now on a break after the Legislature sat for six weeks in July and August. The fall session of the House begins on Sept. 24.