TORONTO — The Ontario government is placing eight major public agencies under formal review this summer, with a focus on efficiency, productivity and sustainable spending that could result in staff reductions.Treasury Board President and Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy announced the reviews Wednesday. The agencies are Metrolinx, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Supply Ontario, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, Legal Aid Ontario, Agricorp and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.Bethlenfalvy said the government has already provided the agencies with internal savings targets but declined to release the figures publicly. “Everything’s on the table, I don’t want to candy coat it,” he told reporters. “Canadians and Ontarians are always looking at their expenses, governments have to do the same.”The reviews will examine administrative costs, leader-to-staff ratios and strategic plans. Officials say the goal is to protect frontline services while ensuring long-term sustainability. A previous agency hiring freeze introduced in 2025 is projected to have avoided nearly $300 million in costs and reduced consultant spending by 20 per cent..The LCBO has already seen its net income fall 15.7% to $2.17 billion in the most recent fiscal year, with further softness projected in the 2026 budget amid expanded private-sector sales channels and shifting consumer habits. At the same time, the agency continues to contend with organized retail theft; Toronto police this week announced more than 500 arrests and 4,000 charges in a crackdown that included multiple LCBO locations and recovered more than $1.6 million in stolen merchandise.Metrolinx faces its own accountability questions after writing off $504 million spent on signalling upgrades around Union Station that are now largely useless. The project, launched in 2013 to modernize century-old infrastructure, was paused in 2023 after officials realized the work was incompatible with redesigned tracks and platforms required for the GO Expansion program. The provincial transit agency’s latest annual report confirmed the bulk of the investment will be written off, part of nearly $570 million in total capital asset write-offs. Critics have called the episode a costly example of poor planning on major transit projects..The announcement lands amid ongoing controversy over Progressive Conservative MPPs who billed taxpayers for thousands of dollars in Toronto hotel stays despite living in the Greater Toronto Area.Premier Doug Ford has ordered the members to repay “every single penny,” but Bethlenfalvy could not confirm Wednesday whether the money has been returned. He said responsibility for those repayments lies elsewhere while stressing that “being responsible for taxpayer money is paramount.”The government maintains the agency reviews are unrelated to the hotel-expense issue and form part of the fiscal discipline outlined in the 2026 budget. Opposition parties have questioned the timing, with NDP Leader Marit Stiles suggesting the move risks serving as a distraction from the government’s own spending controversies.Taxpayers will be watching closely to see whether the reviews produce measurable savings or simply add another layer of process to already large provincial agencies..CTF urges Ford to tighten MPP expense rules after hotel spending controversy
