Ford unveils committee to look into deficit ‘coverup’

Wants to know ‘where the money went’ after shortfall rises to $15B

Premier Doug Ford says the province’s $15-billion budget deficit is “quite possibly the worst political coverup in Ontario’s history,” but there are no plans to call in the police.

On Monday, Ford announced a “select committee” dominated by Progressive Conservative MPPs that would examine how the shortfall ballooned from former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne’s estimate of $6.7 billion.

While the premier claims the Liberals “lied” about the deficit, the increase is mostly due to a difference in opinion — previously and publicly flagged by On- tario’s auditor general — about how to account for pension assets.

The revised deficit, which was revealed Friday, also accounts for Liberal promises such as expanded daycare, which Ford’s government is not implementing.

Wynne said there’s nothing to investigate because the argument between her government and the auditor general took place in public. That dispute was over how to classify $11 billion in jointly sponsored teachers’ and public service pension funds that the Liberals counted as assets.

The nine-member select committee will consist of six Tory MPPs and three New Democrats. It will table an interim report by Nov. 1 and a final one by Dec. 13.

Ford indicated the committee would “call witnesses” and “gather evidence.” “We will demand answers about where the money went and about the coverup. A lot of Liberals got rich under Kathleen Wynne,” he said, not specifying any alleged profiteers. “The rest of us got a $15-billion Liberal deficit.”

Finance Minister Vic Fedeli, who successfully pressed for a police probe into the Liberals’ gas plants scandal while in opposition, repeatedly evaded questions on why he has not made a similar request to law enforcement this time.

“I think the committee will look to get to the bottom of the coverup that the Liberals perpetrated and will begin to restore trust in Ontario’s books,” Fedeli said before walking away from journalists. NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the Tories’ reluctance to call in the police underscores that the committee gambit is nothing but “a dog-and-pony show.” Horwath said Ford “should be calling the police” if he really believes the deficit adjustment is a crime.

Fedeli’s $15-billion deficit figure takes into account Liberal spending promises from the March budget — including free child care for preschoolers and expanded pharmacare and dental care — that the Tories have cancelled.

But the revised shortfall does not include any PC election promises, such as tax reduction or $6 billion in spending cuts, meaning the final deficit for this year will likely be much lower than $15 billion.

Wynne said Ford’s “inflamed rhetoric” is setting the table for slashing services. “What I see is a premier who’s trying to create the conditions and a context for cuts,” she said.

Auditor general Bonnie Lysyk, who had sparred with the Liberals for years after they reduced her authority over government advertising, had refused to sign off on the province’s financial statements because the previous administration didn’t abide by current public sector accounting standards. Lysyk has praised the Tories for agreeing to amend the accounting.

Meanwhile, Ontario Public Service Employees Union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas reminded Ford that he pledged no job cuts during the campaign and after winning the election. “You repeatedly promised during the election campaign that no front-line workers would lose their jobs. It’s a promise that must be kept,” Thomas wrote in an open letter to the premier and Fedeli.