Largest financial scandal in Canadian history: PC leader Doug Ford on budget deficit
Toronto, Apr 26 (IBNS): In a campaign pledge today, Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford mooted an independent inquiry commission to probe into $ 5 billion deficit-number difference between the current liberal dispensation in Ontario and the auditor general, media reports said.
The deficit issue is gradually turning into a major embarrassment for Premier Kathleen Wynne and her team.
Yesterday, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk reported that the province's deficit for 2018-19 should be calculated as $11.7 billion, not $6.7 billion the Liberals tabled in their March budget.
This is "one of the largest financial scandals in Canadian history," Ford told a news conference in here. "In their desperation, the Wynne Liberals have cooked the books."
The Liberals had termed the deficit as an accounting dispute.
“What we are witnessing is a betrayal of the public trust,” Ford said. “We cannot trust anything about the Liberal estimates or projections. Their budget is no longer worth the paper it's written on.”
He said the investigation would recommend options to “restore integrity” to financial reporting of the government.
(Reporting by our Sayantan Banerjee)
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