NY -- Standard&Poor's CreditWire 12/7/95 -- Standard&Poor's affirms its double-`A'-minus long-term debt rating and its `A-1'-plus short-term rating on the Province of Ontario and on the provincially guaranteed debt of Ontario Hydro. The rating outlook is stable. About US$47 billion of rated debt is outstanding on the province and its guaranteed debt. The ratings reflect: -- A strong and diverse economic base, despite an unexpected weakening in performance in the first half of 1995; -- The new government's stated commitment to sizable reductions in the budgetary deficit over the next several years and a balanced budget by fiscal 2001; -- The province's moderately high debt and debt service burdens as a result of large fiscal imbalances
