Excerpted from Adopted Resolutions
Ontario NDP Convention
June 21 – 23, 2002
4.14 Province of Ontario Savings Office
Whereas the provincial debt increased under Mike Harris by $30 billion, and
Whereas the provincial debt is largely interest accrued on a modest original debt which is now being used to justify the privatization of hydro, medicare, water treatment, water supply, waste systems, education, and other parts of the civil commons or public services, and
Whereas the interest on this accumulated debt is paid to a highly profitable private sector that pays less than 5% of profits in taxes, and
Whereas a larger share of each tax dollar collected is paid to the private financial sector in the form of interest on this debt, and
Whereas the federal Liberal government allows the Bank of Canada to increase interest rates in a misguided effort to fight a non-existent inflation in the real economy to keeping the economy on the edge of recession, and
Whereas the Bank of Canada is unable or unwilling to take into account local or regional priorities for prices, a sustainable economy, employment and inflationary factors, and
Whereas over 95% of the money supply is debt money created through credit issued by the private financial sector which pays taxes at rates of less than 5% on the profits derived from this credit/money creation, and
Whereas the federal government has only partially restored transfers to Ontario, and
Whereas the Province of Ontario savings Office is owned by the province of Ontario and thus the only recipient of its surpluses thereby making interest free borrowing by provincial and municipal governments as well as public utilities possible,
Be it therefore resolved that an NDP government would constitute the Province of Ontario savings Office - perhaps in consultation with credit unions - to include both full bank or trust company services and central bank functions on behalf of the province, municipalities and public utilities, and
Be it further resolved that once so constituted, the Province of Ontario will utilize the Province of Ontario Savings Office for its borrowing and payments needs (including the payment of taxes) balancing concerns for provincial inflation factors with local or regional small business and employment
conditions.
