TORONTO - Premier Dalton McGuinty now says so-called "Dalton Days" are just a figment of the media's overactive imagination -- yet he still isn't ruling them out.

Unpaid days off for Ontario's public sector workers are just a best guess -- so far -- of what he's planning to do to grapple with a projected $24.7 billion deficit this year, McGuinty said.

"I never said I was going to do that," he said.

"There's been lots of guessing. There's going to be all kinds of guessing between now and budget day, and speculation. That's a lot of fun. But one of the things that life experience has taught me is that most guesses are wrong."

But he refused to rule out unpaid days off, similar to the hugely unpopular "Rae Days" imposed by former NDP premier Bob Rae in his 1993 social contract.

"I never said I was going to do it," McGuinty said. "Why should I now say I'm not going to do something which I never said I was going to do?"

Asked whether the re-christened "Dalton Days" were a figment of reporters' imaginations, he replied: "To this point in time, yes."

Reporters can keep guessing, but McGuinty said he'll be getting his advice on how best to deal with the deficit from a government committee that's looking at cost-cutting measures.

The premier has strongly suggested in recent weeks that his government was looking at unpaid days off, saying many nurses, teachers, and other public sector workers have been "sheltered" from the worst effects of the global recession.

McGuinty even joked to a business audience at a Nov. 4 economic conference that he liked the sound of "Dalton Days" because of the alliteration.

Despite being offered several opportunities to shoot down the suggestion that he was even considering unpaid days off, McGuinty left the door wide open.

That sparked furor among several unions, who say McGuinty can't re-open existing contracts because the courts are on their side.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the Ontario Nurses' Association said the Liberals can't attempt what Rae did in forcing workers to take up to 12 unpaid days off.

They point to a 2007 Supreme Court ruling which found that the collective bargaining process is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as it threw out sections of a British Columbia law that re-opened contracts for hospital workers.

The ONA said Ontario is already facing a nursing shortage, and forcing nurses to take time off in 1993 ended up costing more because replacements had to be called in on overtime.