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Fedeli calls on Wynne to stop ONTC sale – says real cost of sale $790M

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli shows documents to reporters in his office Friday morning which he procured from the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Fedeli says the documents show the real cost to tax payers to sell of the ONTC will be $790 million.
Kate Adams
Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli shows documents to reporters in his office Friday morning which he procured from the Ontario Ministry of Finance. Fedeli says the documents show the real cost to tax payers to sell of the ONTC will be $790 million.


Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli
News Release

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Newly divulged documents reveal the Liberal government knew the divestment of the ONTC would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, said Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli.



In the 2012 Budget, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan claimed the sale of ONTC would “save taxpayers $265 million”. But Fedeli presented a newly-released document that states “MNDM expects to incur higher projected transition costs as part of the divestment process, which may take longer than originally proposed … but the current MNDM-Infrastructure Ontario high range estimate for divestment costs is $790 M.”



“The government has stated they wanted to divest Ontario Northland to save money. Their own documents prove they now know any sale will actually cost the taxpayer $790 million. I have said from day one their math doesn’t add up, and there will be no savings through this fire sale” said Fedeli.



“I call on the Premier to end this charade, take Ontario Northland off the chopping block, and do what we’ve asked from the beginning: have a Strategic Review of all assets and make Ontario Northland the economic engine of the North. The employees, the families, the stakeholders and the business community of Northern Ontario demand no less than a full stop today” said Fedeli.



“Previously-disclosed documents show the even more damning fact that instead of heeding the Ministry’s recommendation to defer a decision pending ‘further due diligence’, the Liberals announced the ONTC fire sale a month later”, added Fedeli.



The documents are among thousands released to the Standing Committee on Justice – the committee Fedeli has been leading which is currently investigating the Liberal gas plant scandal.

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