Alarming Export Decline Hurting Ontario’s Economic Growth: Fedeli
October 20, 2016QUEEN’S PARK – The Ministry of Finance’s latest Economic Accounts indicated a significant decline in the province’s exports, and signals that Wynne government policies are having a negative impact on our economic growth, Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said today.
Ontario’s Economic Accounts for the second quarter of 2016 noted that the province’s exports declined by 3.3 per cent. This was largely led by a significant decline in the export of international goods, including motor vehicles and consumer goods.
“This is especially concerning given the red tape and skyrocketing hydro rates this government has implemented in Ontario,” said Fedeli. “Under this government we’ve seen over 350,000 good paying manufacturing jobs leave the province.”
As a result of poor export performance, the Ministry of Finance also indicated that Ontario’s economic growth was only 0.2 per cent for the second quarter of 2016 and only on pace to grow by an annual rate of 0.7 per cent. Finance Minister Charles Sousa characterized it as “slow growth.”
“Clearly this government is not creating the right environment for job creation and investment in Ontario, and a new direction is needed to rectify this,” Fedeli added.
The Ministry’s latest numbers are far below the government’s previous projections of annual economic growth of 2.2 per cent. The Financial Accountability Officer has noted that each percentage point decline in economic growth is estimated to lower the province’s total revenue by $885 million.
“It’s clear the Wynne government will be using creative accounting and one-time money from asset sales, contingency funds, and tax increases to artificially balance the budget in an election year, before plunging Ontario back into structural deficits.”
“The Wynne government has no plan to address the fiscal and economic mess they’ve created in Ontario,” concluded Fedeli.