The provincial government says in its fall economic update that it will have to dip into its reserve fund in order to meet its goal of balancing the budget next year.
An accounting dispute with the auditor general over how pension assets should appear on the books means 2.2 billion dollars was added to the deficit this fiscal year.
So the government says it will have to reduce its reserve for 2017-18 from 1.1 billion dollars down to 700 million dollars.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli says the Financial Accountability Officer says the government is artificially balancing the budget by using one time money through the sale of assets like the OPG Building, The LCBO headquarters and the sale of Hydro One.

He says the Financial Accountability Officer is saying in reality the government will be in a deficit position for 5 years.

Fedeli was asked who should we believe.

He says the Financial Accountability Officer represents the legislature.

Fedeli says he’d put his money on him over the government any day because he tells us the facts.

There’s about three billion dollars more in new expenses since the spring budget — including the pension adjustment, a new electricity rebate and 140 million dollars in health spending.

But the province says those expenses are partly mitigated by higher tax revenues and lower-than-forecast interest on debt.