TORONTO – Ontario’s opposition parties say they’re convinced the government plans to sell off key assets like the LCBO, but Premier Kathleen Wynne insists no decisions have been made.
The Liberal budget talks about plans to “maximize” and “unlock” value from provincial assets including Ontario Power Generation, Hydro One and the Liquor Control Board.
During question period, the Progressive Conservatives wanted to know how many employees at those provincial agencies would lose their jobs.
Wynne says an expert panel is looking at the provincial assets, a process she adds would have prevented Ontario’s previous Tory government from signing “such a bad deal” to sell Highway 407.
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She says the province lost billions and billions of dollars in revenue by selling the toll highway, and insists the Liberals won’t do that with the LCBO or the electricity agencies.
The Liberal election platform included $3.15 billion from “asset optimization,” which NDP Leader Andrea Horwath says shows the government plan to sell key assets in addition to some real estate holdings and its shares in General Motors.
The government needs the revenue to help eliminate a $12.5-billion deficit within three years.
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