TORONTO (Standard&Poor's) Dec. 4, 2001--Standard&Poor's today affirmed its double-'A' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings on the Province of Ontario. At the same time, the 'A-1'-plus short-term issuer credit and global scale commercial paper ratings, and the 'A-1(High)' Canadian national scale commercial paper rating, were affirmed. The outlook is stable. The ratings primarily reflect the following strengths: -- The government is committed to preserving budgetary surpluses both in the near and medium term, even as it deals with a rapid slowdown in budgetary revenues brought on by the deteriorating economic outlook. This has been demonstrated through meeting or exceeding deficit and debt targets since 1996. The government is expected to continue to demonstrate its
