McGuinty won’t rule out sale of Ontario’s electricity assets to trim deficit
Posted December 16, 2009 11:44 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Premier Dalton McGuinty insists he remains committed to public power, but he won’t rule out selling Ontario’s electricity assets or other Crown corporations to trim the deficit.
McGuinty used to rail against the Conservatives when they tried to privatize electricity or sell public assets like Highway 407, but said things have changed because of the recession.
Ontario is running a deficit of almost $25-billion this year, and McGuinty said he has to consider all options to deal with it.
He said the government has “a responsibility to take a look at all of our assets to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck.”
The Opposition said selling Crown corporations is “an unprincipled fire-sale approach” to deal with a deficit that the Liberals created.
The New Democrats said public asset sales are an “old and tired idea” and warn taxpayers always get a bad deal.
