Liberal Government’s Fall Economic Statement Nothing but a Shell Game

QUEEN’S PARK – Today during Question Period, Leader of the Official Opposition Patrick Brown questioned the Acting Premier on why her Liberal Government is using infrastructure funding to pay down the deficit.

In order to make the deficit look lower than it is, the government has used $1.1 billion from the proceeds of the Hydro One fire sale as general revenue.

“Last Thursday’s Fall Economic Statement just goes to show there is no reason Ontarians should trust this government’s numbers,” stated Leader Patrick Brown.

While the Liberal Government has continued to claim that the proceeds from the fire sale of Hydro One will go towards a dedicated Trillium Trust to fund Wynne’s $130-billion infrastructure plan, the Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review implies that the these assets are being relied on as general revenue for the cash-strapped Liberals.

“The Opposition has said all along that the sale of Hydro One wasn’t actually going to infrastructure,” Leader Patrick Brown continued.  “We’ve known all along that this is going to pay for the Liberal’s track record of scandal, waste and mismanagement.  $1.1 billion from the sale of Hydro One went straight in to general revenue – oddly enough, that’s exactly what the Liberals wasted with the gas plants scandal.”

The Fall Economic Statement also highlighted that over the next three years, the Wynne Liberals are predicting $8 billion more revenue than the independent Financial Accountability Officer has forecasted.

Leader Patrick Brown concluded, “The $8 billion dollar gap is real and the Fall Economic Statement says the $9 billion anticipated in Hydro One revenue will be used to fill that gap.  Will the government admit they are selling the next tranches of Hydro One to plug that 8 billion dollar gap?”