On Aug. 19, 2002, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its double-'A' long-term issuer credit and senior unsecured debt ratings, and its 'A-1'-plus short-term issuer credit and commercial paper ratings on the Province of Ontario. In addition, Standard&Poor's affirmed its 'A-1(High)' Canadian national scale rating on Ontario's domestic commercial paper program. The outlook is stable. The ratings primarily reflect the following: Strong fiscal performance during the past three years, in large part due to ongoing spending control measures undertaken by the Progressive Conservative government to reduce the size of government and increase the efficiency of the delivery of services. At the same time, substantial personal and corporate income tax cuts likely contributed to strong economic performance, which in
