Auditor General will investigate Ford’s $1-billion write-off to Hwy 407 company

The NDP’s Transit critic MPP Tom Rakocevic (Humber River— Black Creek) said the Ford government should be helping Ontarians — not the corporation that owns the 407 ETR at every one else’s expense. The Ford Government has forgiven a $1-billion penalty for the private corporation that owns the 407 — and now the Auditor General has confirmed she will investigate in response to a request from NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

“In the middle of the pandemic, while many small businesses were forced to shut down and Ontarians struggled to make ends meet, this government gave a billion-dollar handout to the massive private company that owns Highway 407,” Rakocevic said.

He noted the city of Mississauga recently passed a unanimous resolution calling on the Ford government to reduce traffic on the 401 by lowering tolls on the 407.

“The 407 runs just north of my community, but few people in my community actually use it because of the expensive tolls,” Rakocevic said. “Not only did the Premier give the owners of the 407 a massive write-off, he’s spending another $10 billion to build a highway through the Greenbelt to help his developer buddies make even more money.

“The Ford government must do the right thing and put the interest of regular Ontarians ahead of his buddies and the interests of multi-billion dollar corporations.”

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