What to know
- Marit Stiles is requesting an investigation by the Auditor General into the province’s purchase and resale of a private jet, citing concerns over transparency and value for money.
- The Doug Ford government bought a $28.9-million Bombardier Challenger 650 but sold it back within days following public backlash.
- Stiles is urging other party leaders, including John Fraser and Mike Schreiner, to support a united call for a formal audit into the transaction.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles is requesting a full investigation after the Premier Doug Ford government purchased and resold a private jet.
The official opposition leader has shared a letter on social media addressed to Ontario’s Auditor General Shelley Spence requesting her office to launch a comprehensive audit and investigation into the purchase.
According to Stiles, there are “serious and growing concerns about the financial stewardship, transparency, and overall value for money associated with this transaction,” which she believes need to be looked over.
In the letter, she requests that the auditor general investigate the total acquisition cost, resale value, operating and maintenance costs, and any financial losses as a result of the transaction.
Last week, the Ontario government took possession of a $28.9-million Bombardier Challenger 650, business-style private jet, which Ford’s office said was bought to “support more certain, flexible, secure and confidential travel” for the premier.
However, after extensive backlash, the premier sold the aircraft back to Bombardier only days after the purchase, saying the move was a response to hundreds of calls he received from Ontarians who didn’t support the purchase.
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In addition to the initial letter to Spence, Stiles also wrote to Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner requesting that their offices also write to the Auditor General requesting an investigation.
“The good people of Ontario are looking to us to be united in pursuit of fiscal oversight of a very troubling decision and obvious lack of judgement on the part of the Cabinet. It was more than just bad communication, as the Premier described it; it was disrespectful and damaging to Ontarians,” she wrote in the letter.
