Ontarians urged to help province pay off its debt
Would you donate your tax refund or write a cheque to defray Ontario’s $298.9 billion net debt?

TheStar.com
Dec. 20, 2015
Rob Ferguson

Would you donate your tax refund or write a cheque to defray Ontario’s $298.9 billion net debt?

Don’t laugh. It happens.

Think back 19 years.

Former premier Mike Harris, a Progressive Conservative, created the Ontario Opportunities Fund to pay down debt that skyrocketed through five years of NDP rule under his predecessor Bob Rae, while a recession ravaged the province.

So far, the fund has raised $2.8 million.

“It’s an unusual thing for someone to do, but I would encourage any Ontarian who wants to make a contribution to feel free to do so,” said Deb Matthews, deputy premier to Kathleen Wynne and chair of the government’s treasury board.

The latter job puts Matthews in the hot seat, along with Finance Minister Charles Sousa, making sure the annual deficit that hit $10.3 billion last year is eliminated as promised before the next provincial election in 2018.

Last year, 1,461 Ontarians forked over a total of $135,289 by ticking a box on their tax return or sending cheques.

“It’s not even a rounding fraction,” said Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli (Nipissing), a frequent critic of the provincial debt load that has made interest the government’s third biggest expense after health care and education.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the government would have an easier time slaying the deficit and debt if it reversed cuts to corporate tax rates.

She quipped some people may feel their tax refund is so small they tick the box to donate it as a way of saying, “don’t bother sending the cheque.”