Nipissing NDP candidate Henri Giroux is trying to pull the PC party into the MaRS scandal.
MaRS is a decision by the Liberal government to bail out a real estate project in downtown Toronto.
Local PC candidate Vic Fedeli said Friday it could cost Ontario taxpayers more than the $1.1-billion gas plants scandal.
A release from Giroux says when the MaRS research center opened in 2005, it was lauded as a bold entrepreneurial incubator.
“But today it is a white elephant, standing as a stark reminder of how dangerous public-private partnerships can be”, said Giroux.
"New Democrats support research and innovation, but we do not excuse secret decisions made to pay off private land-owners."
The NDP have written to the Auditor-General to ask her to probe this secret payment, according to the party. It claims internal cabinet documents indicate that MaRS was unable to rent sufficient space to pay its rent, and now the government is bailing it out.
“How many billions in waste will it take before the Liberals feel some sense of shame over these scandals?” asks Giroux.
“The gas plants, Ornge Air Ambulance, eHealth, and now a few hundred million for the MaRS Discovery District? They seem to have lots of money for rich friends, but we still don’t have universal, affordable childcare or money to provide services to more than 10,000 people on wait lists who have developmental disabilities.”
Giroux is also critical of Fedeli’s comments about the scandal.
“Fedeli should be honest with the public. This isn’t just a Liberal scandal,” he said. “MaRS was a public-private partnership pet project promoted by Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. Dalton McGuinty may have been there for its launch, but it’s got Conservative fingerprints on it, too.”
“It’s time to stop throwing good money after bad on these Conservative and Liberal P3 schemes,” said Giroux. “If something is for the public good, then make it public. That just makes sense.”
Fedeli says documents obtained from a government whistleblower shows the $317-million purchase price for the Phase 2 tower of the MaRS innovation and research complex is far from the total cost.
“The province will be covering a $45.7-million shortfall because MaRS will be running in the red until 2018," said Fedeli in a conference call, "and is also on the hook for $106 million in fit-up costs to move in tenants,”
