Description: The Ontario government has delivered close to $1.5 billion in support to business since 2004. But Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk revealed last week that the government can’t tell its citizens whether or not all this funding has produced jobs or economic growth. The province’s minister responsible for the economic development portfolio countered that the impact of the government’s funding on the provincial economy would be too small to measure.

Source: Globeandmail.com

Date: December 2, 2015

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/ontario-not-tracking-economic-impact-of-corporate-welfare-auditor-general/article27571299/

Discussion Points:

1) What do you think of some of the examples of financial support for corporations discussed in this article? Were these good policy decisions?

2) Ms. Lysyk recommends that the province could be doing a better job in measuring the success of its financial assistance while the minister responds that the impacts would be too small to measure. What are some of the challenges in setting performance measures in the public sector?

3) If you were an accountant inside the Ontario government, what performance measures might you recommend for financial assistance to businesses?