December, 16, 2009 - 12:33 pm Leslie, Keith - (THE CANADIAN PRESS) TORONTO - Despite severely criticizing Ontario's Progressive Conservatives in the past when they tried to privatize electricity, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday his Liberal government is looking at all Crown corporations and assets as it tries to deal with a $24.7 billion deficit.
"Especially now in the context of a global recession and a significant deficit."
When reminded that he used to rail against previous Conservative governments for trying to privatize the electricity market and for selling Highway 407 to balance the province's books in 1999, McGuinty said the recession has changed things.
"There has been an important, unprecedented, unforeseen, intervening event; the biggest global economic recession in 80 years," he said.
However, just like his previous trial balloon about possible unpaid days off for civil servants, which McGuinty shot down last month days after talking about the idea, the premier played coy Wednesday by noting he hasn't actually said anything is for sale.
"I haven't talked about selling off any assets," he said.
"And I think what Ontarians expect of me is to do what I believe to be right in the circumstances, always informed by their values and aspirations."
Ontario is running a deficit of almost $25 billion this year, and McGuinty says he has to consider all options to deal with it.
Even though they once looked at selling off the LCBO, TVOntario and other provincial assets, the Progressive Conservatives lashed out at McGuinty and the Liberals for considering asset sales to help cut the deficit.
"This is an unprincipled, fire sale approach to a made-in-Ontario by Daulton McGuinty $25-billion deficit," said Opposition critic Peter Shurman.
"It doesn't take into consideration anything other than the desperate need for money and (there's) no planned approach how to address what he's created."
The New Democrats said "selling off public assets at fire-sale prices in the midst of a recession" is exactly the sort of policy that McGuinty used to denounce.
"The speculation around the selling off of public assets is one that I think is old and tired," said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
"It's very clear that when these public assets are sold off, the public gets a bad deal."
The government has hired CIBC World Markets and Goldman Sachs Group to look at the valuation of the Crown assets to make sure taxpayers are getting maximum value for their money, said Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.
"It wasn't a question about do you sell this asset or not, it was more questions about the management of capital, are their better ways to manage it, can we lever this asset for some other public good," Duncan told reporters.
Ontario Lottery and Gaming and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario will also be part of the review, said Duncan.
"Are we getting an adequate return from our gaming operations? Are we getting an adequate return from the LCBO? I think these are important issues we need to look at," he said.
"Even if you get to the point where you make the decision (to sell an asset), you may not get the deal you want, you may not get a good deal for taxpayers."
McGuinty dismissed suggestions that musing about selling off Ontario's electricity assets would frighten people afraid of seeing basic utilities owned by for-profit corporations.
"I'm not scaring anybody, and I don't know if anybody here wants to scare anybody," he said, looking at the media.