That is the inescapable message in the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s latest annual “Fiscal Sustainability” report. The PBO’s bland phrasing, to the effect that the provinces’ fiscal position, collectively, is “not sustainable over the long term,” conceals much worse news about individual provinces. The key table is the one labelled Net Debt: Subnational Governments, on page 24 of the report. It’s true that fiscal policy in many of the provinces has been irresponsible, gusting to reckless. Still, even the most efficient provincial health care system would be under severe pressure in the decades to come, thanks to population aging.

Source: National Post September 29, 2018 00:35 UTC