TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty says he's got a plan to get Ontario out of deficit amid a global economic slowdown, but isn't offering many details.
McGuinty says he won't raise taxes, but tripped up Thursday when he said he'd cut spending. The Liberals have said they won't slash spending, because they'd rather fall into deficit than gut the province's schools and hospitals.
McGuinty later clarified his remark, saying government spending won't increase as quickly as originally planned.
He says the government will delay spending on new projects and slow spending on existing programs.
On Wednesday, the government released its fall economic statement and said it would run a $500-million deficit this year following three consecutive balanced budgets.
McGuinty says he can't speculate whether the province will be headed for a bigger deficit next year, but says 2009 will be a tough one for the province.
He says experts are predicting that it'll take at least two years for the U.S. economy to start to recover.
