TORONTO - Ontarians will find out next week how the province's economy is doing and how the slowdown is impacting the government.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan will deliver the fall economic update Nov. 23, which the government has already said will confirm a deficit of $16 billion for this year.
Duncan has been warning that growth forecasts are being revised downward almost weekly, and are much lower than his projections in the spring budget.
Premier Dalton McGuinty wants the government to limit its growth in spending to one per cent a year until the deficit is eliminated in six years.
That's going to mean cuts in areas other than health and education, but just what services will be reduced or eliminated won't be revealed until next spring's budget.
The Liberals used last year's fall economic update to announce a $1-billion plan to cut electricity bills by 10 per cent.
Ontario ranks 15th of 16 North American jurisdictions when it comes to gross domestic product per capita, with Quebec last on the list in a new report on competitiveness and economic progress.
Next week will be busy at the legislature, which will start with the election of a Speaker on Monday and the Liberal's throne speech on Tuesday. The economic update is slated for Wednesday.
The legislature hasn't sat since it recessed last June, and will be returning with a minority government for the first time in a generation.
