Originally published in the Kingston Whig-Standard
Almost lost in the din that accompanied the tabling of the provincial budget last March was an announcement by the minister of finance that he had appointed a retired banker to head an inquiry that was formally titled the Commission on the Reform of Public Services in Ontario.
Don Drummond was the banker named by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, and his work would soon become known as the Drummond Commission.
The task assigned to Drummond was straightforward: reduce the provincial deficit, which currently stands at about $16 billion, to zero by 2017 by conducting a sweeping review of public services in Ontario. Leave no stone unturned in your investigation, the minister told Drummond, even if that means dramatically downsizing, eliminating or privatizing provincially funded programs and services.
Those of us who believe that public services exist to ensure equality among citizens and to help build strong communities and good jobs were shocked by the sweeping mandate Drummond was handed.
Our initial shock turned to dismay when several aspects of the Drummond Commission became apparent. We believe these shortcomings in Drummond’s work also serve as an alarm bell for all Ontarians who believe that good public services represent a foundation upon which local economies can grow and prosper.
Even before he hands down his final report and recommendations in time for this year’s provincial budget, Drummond’s work is seriously undermined by three fundamental weaknesses of his mandate.
- First, the commission is conducting its work behind closed doors. Public consultations have been ruled out and at no point will Drummond hear from those who actually rely on the delivery of public services or from local leaders whose communities depend on public services to help keep them vibrant and economically viable.
- Second, the finance minister did not define to Drummond what exactly public services are, the value they represent to communities or, for that matter, what social needs are going unmet in today’s Ontario that good public services might correct.
- Finally, the commission was specifically prohibited from exploring how changes to our current tax system might address the deficit and provide badly needed funding to sustain public services.
The Public Services Foundation of Canada, an advocacy and research organization, is deeply disturbed by the direction the Drummond Commission is taking. We have elected to take a different approach to tackling the challenge of preserving public services.
After consulting with various stakeholder groups, the foundation will conduct its own inquiry, which we have titled the Commission on Quality Public Services and Tax Fairness. Our commission will visit more than a dozen communities across Ontario over the next two months, starting next week in Kingston, where we will listen to expert testimony from community leaders, front-line providers and clients of public services, academics who study tax reform, local business leaders and others.
We will gather their evidence and make our own recommendations to the finance minister in time for this year’s provincial budget.
All of us recognize that Ontario’s deficit must be tackled. However, there are approaches other than arbitrarily cutting, eliminating or privatizing public services, which we fear will be the outcome of the Drummond Commission. Before it blindly adopts the recommendations of the Drummond Commission, we kindly invite the McGuinty government to listen to the voices of other Ontarians who believe quality public services are sustainable through tax fairness.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis
Commissioner to the Commission on Quality Public Services and Tax Fairness and chair of the Public Services Foundation of Canada.
Wasylycia-Leis was an MP from 1997 to 2010. The commission will hold a daytime public hearing and evening town hall forum Jan. 5 at the central branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library. Go to http://www.standupontario.org for more info.
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