Under the McGuinty Liberals’ 2005 budget, 15 ministries government-wide have either been cut, flat-lined or provided with a meagre spending increase that is less than the rate of inflation. The hardest hit ministries other than the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services include:

· The Ministry of Agriculture will have $613 million less to spend this year.

· The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has been cut by $88 million – including a $47 million cut to municipal transfer payments through the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.

· The Native Affairs Secretariat has been cut by 22.2 percent.

· The Ministry of Tourism and Recreation has been cut by $21 million or 11.4 percent, even though the tourism industry continues to recover from SARS, Mad Cow and the 2003 Blackout.