Anyone who has ever shopped for a new car knows that being in a hurry will cost you more.
The salesman knows you want to drive it away today, so discounts and deals go out the door.
According to Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s report on the cancelled Oakville gas plant, Dalton McGuinty’s government was drooling on the tires and itching to drive away as it negotiated with the builder of the plant.
The report spells out in detail how taxpayers and electricity ratepayers will pick up a bill of at least $675 million, but that could rise to as much as $1.1 billion.
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It could have been much less.
Lsysk points out the contract with the builder of the plant would have been cancelled if the commercial operation date of February 2014 had been delayed by two years. Considering the legal roadblocks being put up by the Town of Oakville, that delay was likely to occur, meaning the plant would have been cancelled with no penalty and no cost.
Related: A timeline of the cancelled gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga
That of course would have been too late for the Liberals facing a general election in October 2011 with considerable opposition in the difficult to hold riding of Oakville.
The Premier’s office also committed to TransCanada Energy (TCE) it would “be made whole” and would be compensated for the anticipated value of the original contract. This despite the fact there were clauses in the contract that would have limited the government payout.
The report paints a picture of a government scrambling to make a problem go away quickly, more than watching the bottom line for the benefit of Ontarians.
The Liberals got the car, holding seats in Oakville and Mississauga. Unfortunately it turned out to be lemon, squeezing Dalton McGuinty out of office and leaving the bitter taste of a one billion bill for two non existent plants in the mouths of voters.
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