Compensating education and health care workers as a result of the province’s wage restraint bill led to higher than planned spending in both sectors by the Ford government in the third quarter, according to the province’s financial watchdog.
After Ontario’s top court ruled that Bill 124, the law that capped salary increases for public sector workers at one per cent a year for three years, was unconstitutional, the government announced it would be repealed.
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) says the government spent more than $1.5 million in health care and more than $2.6 million in education in large part to compensate workers who have negotiated retroactive pay increases since the law was struck down.
“The price is so much greater than that. “The price Ontarians are paying is the loss of so many of those frontline healthcare workers and education workers,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.
The FAO also noted that the province’s contingency fund has grown to $5.1 billion after starting the fiscal year at $4 billion with the suggestion being that some of the money is being allocated for Bill 124 backpayments.
“The government’s contingency fund is for a rainy day – it’s been pouring for a few years now,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.
“They’re adding another billion dollars to this contingency fund, when there are so many people and so many needs across Ontario,” said Stiles.
While critics say the government is hoarding taxpayer dollars, the Minister of Finance says it’s necessary.
“There’s a number of expenditures that we have to take into account throughout the year – not least of which are wages,” said Peter Bethlanfalvy. “We’re going to continue to be very prudent in making sure we compensate those agreements fairly in the process.”
The Ford government also spent $133 million less than planned on Children, Community and Social Services, according to the FAO report, at a time when childcare centers across the province said they were at risk of closing without additional funding.
Post-secondary education spending was also $66 million less than planned with a number of the province’s universities and colleges claiming they were in a financial crisis.
The Ford government is expected to table its new budget on or before March 31.