NDP to move motion to have scrapped renewable energy costs audited

The Official Opposition New Democrats want to know the total price tag for Doug Ford’s move to bulldoze 750 green energy contracts, and they’ll try to make that happen with a vote at the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday.

 

Ontario’s Auditor General has told the NDP it’s going to take a vote in the legislature, an order from the Public Accounts Committee, or a request from a cabinet minister to spark an audit of the total cost — which is already at $231 million with, according to the Toronto Star, only 215 of 750 projects having applied so far.

 

“This is exactly how the Liberal gas plant scandal unfolded. The Liberals said it would cost $230 million, and the auditor found out it was over $1 billion,” said Andrea Horwath, Leader of the Official Opposition New Democrats. “We needed an order from the Public Accounts Committee to have the auditor dig up the truth.

 

“These costs hurt families — including the sky-high Liberal hydro bills already being jacked even higher by the Conservatives.”

 

The NDP’s motion at the Public Accounts Committee follows an attempt earlier this week to move the same motion in the legislature. The Ford Conservatives blocked that.

 

“We already found out about the $231-million expense Doug Ford tried to hide. If that’s all there is, the Conservatives should be happy to have an audit,” said Horwath.

 

“Ontarians deserve better than the bad contracts the Liberals signed. But Doug Ford is taking things from bad to worse by paying those companies to rip up contracts and tear down clean energy infrastructure.”

 

The NDP uncovered the $231-million-so-far cost, which Ford had tried to hide by labeling it as “other transactions” in the budget documents.

New Democratic Party