Bill allowing the government to break its own contracts is bad for business

Ontario NDP Energy Critic Peter Tabuns says Doug Ford’s attempt to give the government the power to break its own contracts will have a chilling effect on business.

“From now on, businesses seeking government contracts will have only two options,” said Tabuns. “Either they will have to add a bad faith risk premium onto the price of government contracts and drive costs up, or they’ll have to have a special relationship with the premier and his inner circle to protect them from these sorts of arbitrary actions.

“Why would any company do business with the Ontario government when Mr. Ford is willing to suspend the rule of law when it comes to contracts his lobbyists and insiders don’t like, or would be more politically convenient to rip up?”

On Monday, the Ford Conservative government tabled Bill 2, which not only gives the government the power to break its own contracts, but also includes a bizarre clause protecting the government from lawsuits that allege “misrepresentation within the meaning of applicable securities laws.”

Ripped-up contracts by Ford are expected to cost Ontarians billions of dollars, exactly as the Liberal gas plant scandal’s ripped-up contracts did.

“This legislation is truly outrageous,” said Tabuns. “Saying that the Ford Conservatives don’t honour contracts and there’s nothing companies can do about it is no way to attract and retain the world-class investment, jobs and industries that Ontario deserves.”