October 30th, 2015

The Premier’s defining moment: Wynne plows ahead with discredited sell-off of Hydro One

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said today that the last 24 hours have been a “defining moment” for Premier Kathleen Wynne. 

“Kathleen Wynne has proven that she simply does not care about the real evidence and the real negative impact that the sell-off of Hydro One will have on families and businesses across this province,” said Horwath. “This is a defining moment for this Premier – in the most disappointing way.”

Yesterday the Financial Accountability Officer’s (FAO) released a scathing report on the fiscal impacts of the sell-off of Hydro One. In the report the FAO discredited the Premier’s claims on the purported benefits of the sell-off. Instead of earning $4 billion in new cash for infrastructure as the Premier is claiming, the report showed there could be as little as $1.4 billion. Rather than reducing the province’s net debt by $5 billion, the report showed that the sell-off could actually increase the debt.

“By plowing ahead, the Liberals are waving goodbye to nearly half-a-billion dollars each and every year in lost net revenues,” said Horwath. “It has never been more clear: Privatizing our public hydro does not add up for the people of Ontario.”

Instead of taking steps to address the legitimate concerns raised by the FAO report the government announced that the trading of Hydro One shares will begin on November 5 – less than a week from today.

“Her actions, over the past 24 hours, speak volumes,” said Horwath. “Her numbers cannot be trusted. Her arguments have been discredited. But Kathleen Wynne is choosing to ignore the evidence – and to plow ahead with her sell-off of Hydro One.”

Ignoring facts to plow ahead w her hydro selloff is a defining moment for Wynne in a most disappointing way. #onpoli https://t.co/Xr1e5MA4er \n— Andrea Horwath (@AndreaHorwath) October 30, 2015