TORONTO - Labour leaders were still unclear Thursday about whether Ontario civil servants will have to take unpaid days off and wage freezes to help the government balance its unprecedented deficit.

Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, who met with more than 20 union representatives to discuss the next provincial budget, is still considering all options, said Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan.

Ryan initially said Duncan had ruled out so-called "Dalton Days" and wage freezes during the one-hour meeting. But he later amended his remarks after a brief talk with Duncan, saying he misunderstood the minister.

"What he did say was that nothing was off the table," Ryan said.

"I understood him to mean he was pooh-poohing it at the beginning of the meeting, because he kind of said, 'I know there's all that sort of speculation out there about Dalton Days.' So he's now saying that what he was saying was that everything was still on the table."

Duncan's spokeswoman, Alicia Johnston, said the minister didn't ask Ryan to clarify his comments and Ryan did so voluntarily.

Part of the confusion stemmed from previous remarks made by Premier Dalton McGuinty, who "dismissed" Dalton Days, Ryan said.

In November, the premier mused about imposing unpaid days to help re-balance the books, then shot down his trial balloon a week later, accusing reporters of playing guessing games.

Duncan wouldn't say Thursday whether those measures had been ruled out for the upcoming budget, which he expects to deliver before April 1.

"What I said today is that, 'Don't respond to speculation."' he said. "It's all speculation at this point. The budget's not written."

One of the reasons he wanted the meeting was to consult with Ontario's labour movement before making "those kinds of decisions," Duncan added.

The Ontario government has also floated the idea of selling off public assets such as Hydro One and the LCBO to balance the books as it grapples with a $25-billion deficit this year alone.

Ryan said the meeting was "great," with more labour leaders in attendance than any pre-budget meeting he'd seen in the last 20 years, including those representing auto workers, teachers and nurses.

They raised a number of concerns, including the cuts to corporate taxes, which is costing the government much-needed revenue, Ryan said.

Former NDP premier Bob Rae was demonized by the very unions who helped put him in office when in 1993, he forced workers to take up to 12 unpaid days off to help deal with a deficit.

Several unions have said that the Liberals can't attempt what Rae did, pointing to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling which found that the collective bargaining process is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However, some lawyers argue that the Supreme Court ruling would still allow the government to re-open labour contracts as long as it first consulted the unions involved.