Ontario’s Finance Minister Janet Ecker announced today that the 2002 Ontario Savings Bonds will be available from May 31 to June 21.

Once again, Ontario residents are offered the convenience of buying their bonds directly by telephone or by down-loading an application from the Internet. The savings bondswill also be available at banks, trust companies, credit unions, caisses populaires, Province of Ontario Savings Offices and through investment dealers.

Ontario Savings Bonds are sold in amounts from $100 to $500,000. They are backed 100% by the Government of Ontario.

Interest rates and details about the different types of bonds offered will be announced on May 31. Rates for 1996-2001 Variable-Rate Bonds will also be announced at that time. The 1999 Fixed-Rate Bonds reach maturity on June 21. They can be reinvested in 2002 Ontario Savings Bonds.

OSB sales of $4.2 billion in 2001 set a record for provincial bond issues, the largest in Canadian history.