CTF Kicks Off Ontario Debt Clock Tour On Northshore (Incl.Video)

Written by Candice Malcolm Ontario Director CTF on 02 August 2013

THUNDER BAY, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) launched a 56- community, 28-day tour of Ontario with the provincial Debt Clock. The tour aims to draw public attention to the overspending and unsustainable debt at Queen’s Park.

“Ontario’s debt grows by almost a billion dollars each month,” said CTF’s Ontario Director Candice Malcolm. “Paying interest on this debt is the third largest expense in the budget, and it’s the fastest growing expenditure in Ontario.”

Ontario’s debt grows by:

$372 per second, or about the average Ontario family’s monthly grocery bill;
$22,342 per minute, or about the cost of a down payment for a starter home in our province;
$1.34 million per hour, or enough to hire five new doctors or 20 nurses;
$32.2 million per day, or enough to upgrade a highway or hospital.

“The bottom line is, this debt is irresponsible,” continued Malcolm. “By not addressing it and not paying it off now, we are handing the responsibility over to our children and grandchildren who will be forced to pay it with higher taxes and fewer services.”

Ontario’s debt currently hovers around $256 billion.

“This is thanks in part to Premier Wynne, who presented Ontario’s 6th consecutive budget deficit this year and refuses to address the province’s unsustainable debt,” said Malcolm. “Instead, she ignores the debt and tries to hit up taxpayers with more ‘revenue tools’ to fund more pet projects, like transit in Toronto.”

The iconic Debt Clock displaying Ontario’s provincial and per capita debt, is 12 feet long and over 5 feet tall. It is housed in a custom-designed trailer that has criss- crossed the country several times over the past two years.

Planned Ontario Debt Clock 2013 tour stops include:

August 2 – Thunder Bay (Launch)
August 3 – Schreiber, Terrace Bay,
August 4 – Marathon, Wawa
August 5 – Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River, Elliot Lake, Massey
August 6 – Sudbury, North Bay
August 7 – Pembroke
August 8 – Renfrew, Arnprior
August 9 – Kanata, Nepean, Barrhaven, Ottawa
August 12 – Cornwall, Brockville
August 13 – Kingston, Belleville
August 14 – Peterborough, Cobourg
August 15 – Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Toronto
August 16 – Markham, Richmond Hill, Vaughn
August 17/18 – Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York
August 19 – Barrie, Newmarket, Aurora
August 20 – Brampton, Mississauga, Oakville
August 21 – Guelph, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge
August 22 – Burlington, Hamilton, Brant, Brantford
August 23 – St. Catharines, Welland, Niagara
August 26 – London, Sarnia
August 27 – Windsor, Chatham-Kent
August 28/29 – Toronto

Missed the Debt Clock in your town but want to sign the ‘Balanced Budgets and Debt-Reduction Without Raising Taxes’ petition?

CLICK HERE for e-version of petition being circulated by CTF on Ontario Debt Clock Tour (will open in new tab/window)
CLICK HERE for print-version of petition (will open in new tab/window – includes submission instructions)