As the Ford government continues to weather a hotel expenses scandal, the Progressive Conservatives are launching a review of some of the province’s largest agencies looking for reductions in cost and size — a move the government claims bears no connection to the controversy.
Finance Minister and Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy said the government would kick off a review of eight agencies, including Metrolinx, the LCBO, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and Supply Ontario.
The review, the government said, would look at administrative costs, leader-to-staff ratios and strategic plans and could potentially lead to cuts in staff and the amount of money taxpayers spend on the agencies’ work.
“Everything’s on the table, I don’t want to candy coat it,” Bethlenfalvy said.
“Canadians and Ontarians are always looking at their expenses, governments have to do the same.”
The announcement comes as the Ford government battles an internal expenses scandal that saw a number of Progressive Conservative MPPs charging taxpayers for Toronto-based hotel rooms despite living within the GTA.
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Willowdale MPP Stan Cho resigned as Tourism Minister over the scandal after Global News revealed he expensed $16,000 on downtown Toronto hotel room despite living roughly six kilometres away from Queen’s Park.
Other MPPs racked up more than $120,000 in combined charges and claimed the overnight stays were necessary in order to attend late-night sittings at Queen’s Park.
The expense category only allows GTA-area MPPs to book a hotel room for emergency situations such as a snowstorm.
While Premier Doug Ford chided his caucus over the spending and ordered the MPPs to repay the entire amount to the Ontario Legislature, his government has yet to offer any proof of those payments.
On Tuesday, Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s deputy premier, said she’s “anecdotally” aware that some of those repayments have begun but could speak to “how many.”
Bethlenfalvy also evaded questions about the
“That’s not something I’m responsible for,” Bethlenfalvy said before adding that “being responsible for taxpayer money is paramount.”
The government has also faced scrutiny over the growing size of Metrolinx, the provincial agency responsible for transit planning, construction and delivery.
In an interview with Focus Ontario, Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay said the agency’s rapid growth was linked to the expanding mandate given by the Ford government since 2018, including planning and building the Ontario Line, Scarborough Subway and LRT projects.
“I think the organization needed to grow quite quickly to try to get relevant subject matter expertise fast in order to plan and get through the procurement and early stages of delivery of (GO expansion),” he explained.
Since taking over, Lindsay appears to have made a conscious choice to try to shift the organization from its previous consultant-heavy approach — largely by cutting down more than 400 full-time and part-time consulting contracts.
“There’s been reductions in the total complement of both Metrolinx as an organization, but also, even more significantly, a sharp reduction in the number of third-party consultants that are around,” Lindsay said.