http://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/goldstein-auditor-general-shatters-the-fiscal-fantasy
Lysyk said Wynne’s budget underestimates government deficits for the next three years by $16.6 billion, or 84 per cent, for two reasons.
First, it fails to reflect the true cost of its scheme to temporarily reduce electricity rates, known as the Fair Hydro Plan.
Second, the government improperly treated surpluses in the Ontario teacher and civil service pension plans as assets, since it can’t access that money without union permission.
“When expenses are understated, the perception is created that government has more money available than it actually does,” Lysyk wrote.
“Therefore, more money will need to be borrowed to pay for the unrecorded expenses, even when government reports an annual surplus or a balanced budget.
“A perception is also created of an improving trend in the relationship between the government’s financial obligations and its capacity to raise funds to meet them when the burden of net debt is actually increasing.”
h/t David Southam who adds a few comments of his own.