The Toronto Star ran an article dated May 23, 2011 that reports there are 1.06 million public employees in Ontario.  1,060,000 !!! This is a reflection of the fact that most voters believe the government should DO SOMETHING about every little problem, especially if there's enough voters who would somehow benefit from government action.  "There ought to be a law!"  And of course politicians are glad to do something to win votes, especially if it provides an excuse to reward their loyal supporters with government jobs. 

The article also point out that many of these public 'servants' received pay increases in spite of McGuinty's claim to have imposed a wage freeze. 

Another article by the Toronto Sun dated May 23, 2011 reports that, "The Dalton McGuinty government is set to eliminate hundreds of Ontario public sector positions over the summer," and "The first notices are starting to trickle out." If you assume "hundreds" is less than 1,000 jobs, this represents 0.09% of the employees.  This will hardly make a dent in the deficit. 

The only way to reduce government is to eliminate whole departments and ministries. 

Thanks to Dave Paul and Glenn Langton for providing these links on our Facebook Group.