As of Saturday, the Ontario government is implementing a hiring freeze for provincial agencies, boards, and commissions.
Caroline Mulroney, President of the Treasury Board, announced the directive in a statement released on Friday morning.
"This freeze will support the government's ongoing efforts to be disciplined and responsible with taxpayer money, while putting more resources into frontline service delivery and back into the pockets of taxpayers," read the statement.
The Ford government said the freeze is necessary because of the explosive growth of provincial agencies, "which have grown at a rate of more than five times that of the Ontario public service since 2023."
It stated that the freeze reflects a similar policy that has been in place in the public service since 2018.
"Since 2018, as part of our efforts to increase efficiency and support effective government services, we have reduced the number of provincial agencies from 191 to 143," continued the statement. "Today's announcement builds on this progress."
Provincial agencies, boards, and commissions are essential to the delivery of public services, including the Ford government's plan to build new hospitals, transit, highways, and other infrastructure. The statement says those investments will continue.
