TORONTO — Ontario’s finance minister says an independent commission that probed the province’s books has found the government ran a multi-billion-dollar deficit in the last fiscal year. Fedeli says that with the commission’s findings factored in, the province’s public account shows a $3.7 billion deficit in 2017-18. He further says the province will run a $15-billion deficit this fiscal year, not $6.7 billion as the Liberals projected. Bonnie Lysyk suggested that the $6.7-billion deficit projected by the Liberals for 2018-2019 would be $11.7 billion instead, and the projected $6.5 billion for 2020-2021 would actually be $12.5 billion. The Conservatives have also commissioned a line-by-line audit of government spending, which is expected to be finished in the coming weeks.

Source: National Post September 21, 2018 12:59 UTC