Local Conservative MPPs expressed outrage last week, after a special report by Ontario’s auditor general pegged the true cost of cancelling a gas plant in Oakville at $675 million, rather than the $310 million figure originally provided by the governing Liberals.
“This waste of money can only be described as outrageous,” said Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott. “And the Liberals’ attempts to conceal the true cost can only be described as devious.”
“It’s probably the most appalling waste of taxpayers’ money in our province’s history,” said Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece.
The report, released Oct. 8 by Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk also found the $675 million estimate to cancel the Oakville gas plant may ultimately rise by an additional $140 million.
Added to the $275 million cancellation of a Mississauga gas plant, the MPPs say the total cost for the cancellation of the two gas plants will actually fall between $950 million to $1.09 billion.
The report indicates the costs could be offset by estimated future savings of $437 million, for a net cost of $675 million over 20 years.
The auditor general also reported much of the cost to cancel the Oakville plant could have been avoided.
That cost was “significantly more than may have been necessary,” said Lysyk, because of a number of “questionable decisions” by the premier’s office.
“They spent a billion dollars of public money for crass political purposes, just to save five Liberal seats in the GTA,” said Pettapiece.
“The Liberals made a conscious decision to put their own political survival ahead of the interests of the people of Ontario,” added Arnott.
Arnott also criticized the Ontario NDP, stating the New Democrats “owe Ontarians an explanation after they have propped the government up for the past two years.”
Pettapiece said the Liberal Party of Ontario should pick up “even a small part of the cost.”
However, even though Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty resigned in the wake of the scandal last November, Pettapiece said he doesn’t expect accountability from the party.
“No one has even been fired over this mess,” Pettapiece said.
In an Oct. 8 press release, McGuinty’s successor Premier Kathleen Wynne stated while estimates vary over what the cancellations will cost over the next 20 years, “all of them are unacceptably large.”
The premier said new rules, based on the auditor general’s report would be implemented “to make sure this never happens again.”
Wynne also said she asked the secretary of cabinet to create new rules “limiting political staff involvement in commercial, third-party transactions.”
