Kathleen Wynne and her field of Liberal candidates achieved a remarkable victory in the June 12 provincial election, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Pundits massaging poll numbers never grasped the power of her appeal to craft a majority out of the data which had “minority” (for someone) written all over it.In an ideologically polarized campaign, Ontarians seemed to  vote nostalgically, wanting to continue the comforting dance music rather than accept that the party had come to an end and it was time to pick up the broken bottles and clean up after the binge. When an impressive leader assures us that she can renew our prosperity by “investing” in still more expensive initiatives, voters tend to suspend their disbelief based on what they know to be true of businesses and households, namely, that at some point the creditors decline to provide the wherewithal represented by the shortfall between revenues and expenditures.So Ontarians appear to have concluded that our kind and gentle society can indeed spend its way to job creation, increased incomes, retirement security and stability in our governmental fiscal stance while maintaining the compassionate and generous public services we associate with the Canadian way of life. The man with the predictions of unpleasant consequences if we continued our profligate ways was dismissed as brittle and unlikeable, despite the fact that he couldn't keep himself from smiling even as he delivered the bad news.But the bad news cannot be ignored, because, difficult as it may be for the consumers of political rhetoric to accept, we do find ourselves at a point where we need to take stock of our very ability to maintain the social contract the voters have just said they wanted.Speaking at the Empire Club of Canada on November 25, 1993, exactly one month after the devastating defeat of the Conservative government of Kim Campbell at the hands of Jean Chretien, I said, “The honeymoon which follows the election of a new majority government is a dangerous time for any speaker to attempt to analyze the results and make predictions about the consequences. Until the euphoria over the substantial changes in the political landscape turns into the inevitable disappointment brought about by actually governing, an observer, particularly a notoriously partisan one, runs the risk of being out of step with conventional wisdom.” I predicted that the federal Liberals would be obliged to attack the deficit with far more vigour than they had suggested when campaigning, because the fiscal situation was so dire.Although the Club's President described the talk as a “tour de force”, many in the media wrote that it was sour grapes from someone who had not got the memo that the election was over.But guess what? Finance Minister Paul Martin did exactly that, returning the country to fiscal balance in a few short years with harsh measures imposed by a reality that did not depend on the consent of the governed. As one PC wag put it immediately after the June 12 election, “ The rating agencies will become the Official Opposition”.It is inevitable that Premier Wynne will do her victory lap in the form of the resurrection of her May 1, 2014 budget, because she feels vindicated and empowered to do so. It does not require embellishment, having been designed to appeal like mother's milk to the New Democrats, but the victors may not be able to resist some delicious add-ons to make the point that spending and taxing are the essence of the Liberal DNA and their conditioned reflex formula for generating prosperity. But soon after that, just as Rene Levesque had to rein in teachers' salary demands and Bob Rae invented down-time for public servants known as “Rae days”, the new Liberal majority government will have to come to grips with the deficit and debt whose servicing costs eat up so much tax revenue as to stymie those very programs which a real government would champion if it had the freedom of action to reallocate the vast sums now paid as interest to the province's creditors.Out of nothing but an interest to see our province restored to its greatness as the economic engine of the nation, I offer the new government, along with my congratulations, a few simple tips on how to get to fiscal balance:1. THE EASIEST PROGRAM TO CUT IS THE ONE YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED YET: Even poorly designed programs have beneficiaries, and these can form coalitions to oppose frugality at the most inconvenient times. There is no such thing as a government initiative that is relatively easy to cut. The best discipline is to not go there in the first place, or, if an announcement is forcing its way through your clenched lips, consider tying it to the elimination of the deficit, much like the federal Conservatives' promise about family income splitting for spouses with minor children.2. NO MORE BOONDOGGLES: There is no reason why blockbuster promises need to be so horribly designed. The procession of waste, mismanagement, ill-considered schemes and reckless, politically-motivated announcements is mind-boggling. From the outrageous idea that an air ambulance service (a most necessary thing) needs to operate without oversight or scrutiny from the central control of the public purse, paying its executives outrageous, hidden salaries and benefits, to the botched attempt to make medical records available electronically at a cost baffling even to the auditor general, and the ill-considered generosity of feed-in tariffs for electricity-generating techniques deemed more environmentally friendly, the sole sourced contract to a Korean supplier, the decision to locate gas plants immediately adjacent to important electoral constituencies without learning the opinions of the local residents so that the cost of cancelling and moving them had to be misrepresented and concealed, to the latest scandal where a MaRS building was built at a known cost per square foot, and only later found to be too expensive to rent to start-up technology firms and had to be purchased by the province, the message is clear: Stop creating the programs that morph into scandals!3. LOSE THE TERM “INVESTMENT”: Not every expenditure can be made to look attractive by wrapping it in that word. An investment is characterized by having a measurable risk and a calculable payback. When one stands in front of the garbage disposal dumping waste into it, the word “investment” does not come to mind.4. A MAJORITY ENABLES YOU TO DO THE TOUGH STUFF: This should be self-evident.5. IF YOU DON'T, THE NEXT TIME AROUND THE SURPRISES WON'T BE AS PLEASANT!Stanley Herbert Hartt, OC, QC is a lawyer, lecturer, businessman, and civil servant. He currently serves as counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP. Previously Mr. Hartt was chairman of Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. Before this he practised law as a partner for 20 years at a leading Canadian business law firm and was chairman of Citigroup Global Markets Canada and its predecessor Salomon Smith Barney Canada. Mr. Hartt also served as chairman, president and CEO of Campeau Corporation, deputy minister at the Department of Finance and, in the late 1980s, as chief of staff in the Office of the Prime Minister.