Robert Benzie
Premier Dalton McGuinty admits the Ontario government is looking at selling off the family jewels to cope with its record $24.7 billion budget deficit.
In a major policy flip-flop from a premier who in opposition derided selling off Crown assets as "a fire sale," McGuinty conceded desperate times require desperate measures.
"We've got a responsibility to look at all our assets to make sure we're getting the best bang for the buck," he told reporters Wednesday.
But the premier dismissed as "speculation" a report in The Globe and Mail that suggested the province would actually sell off Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario or the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
"I haven't talked about selling off any assets," he said, admitting the government has retained two Bay Street investment banks to determine the value of its holdings.
Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill) blasted the Liberals for "a panic-driven fire sale."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the idea of selling off public assets suggests the government is confused because just last week Liberal ministers were chiding the Tories for privatizing Highway 407 in 1999.