An MPP looks over his copy as Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa prepares to deliver the provincial budget at Queens Park in Toronto, April 23, 2015.Mark Blinch/Reuters
The Liberal government used its majority today to pass the Ontario budget, which clears the way for the sale of Hydro One, the huge electrical transmission utility.
The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats had urged the government to separate the Hydro One sale from the omnibus budget bill, warning electricity rates will soar even higher once it is privatized.
Once the bill gets royal assent, it immediately removes oversight of Hydro One by the provincial ombudsman, auditor general, financial accountability officer, integrity commissioner and privacy commissioner.
The independent watchdogs, who report directly to the legislature — not to the government of the day — issued an unprecedented joint letter warning they will no longer be able to assess Hydro One's value and quality of services.
Ombudsman Andre Marin recently released a scathing report into 10,700 complaints about erroneous bills and "abominable" customer service by Hydro One, something he warned he will no longer have the power to investigate.
People also won't be able to find out if Ontario taxpayers still pay for 81 per cent of pension contributions by Hydro One workers, thousands of whom are on the so-called sunshine list of public sector workers paid over $100,000 a year. The Hydro One workers will no longer appear on the sunshine list, but they were given shares in the agency in a proposed new contract, even before shares are for sale to the public.