Thibeault defends Liberal's Hydro One sell-off

A report critical of the provincial government's plans to sell 60 per cent of Hydro One did not take all the benefits of that sale into account, says Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault.

“We always respect the reports of our financial accountability officer,” Thibeault said. “But some of the things he didn't include would be the 100,000 jobs we're going to be creating per year, over the next 10 years, when we're creating our infrastructure.”

In a report published Thursday, Stephen LeClair, Ontario’s first Financial Accountability Officer, said the province could net as little as $6.8 billion from the sale, leaving a far smaller amount remaining for infrastructure. And once complete, the province would lose out on $500 million in Hydro One revenues a year.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa has said the sale would raise about $9 billion, of which $5 billion will be used to pay off debt, and $4 billion toward the province's planned $130-billion investment in infrastructure over the next 10 years.

“The report says what the report says, but we need to move forward to build Ontario up with the infrastructure investments we're going to be making over the next 10 years,” Thibeault said Friday.

The provincial Liberals have faced criticism from both opposition parties over the planned sale, which is expected to begin next week.

“The public does not support this fire sale,” said Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown, in a press release Thursday. “Ontario’s financial watchdog says the sale will deteriorate the province’s budget balance. The Wynne Liberals should do the right thing, and put an immediate stop to the sale of Hydro One.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath told NorthernLife.ca the province should change its course, especially now that Prime Minister-elect Justin Trudeau has promised his own plan for $125 billion in federal infrastructure spending over the next decade.

To date, 185 of Ontario's 444 municipalities have passed motions calling for the government to change course on its plans to sell off 60 per cent of Hydro One.