Ontario’s opposition leaders say taxpayers should not be on the hook for an extra $200,000 in costs associated with the province’s scuttled $28.9-million private jet purchase, calling on Premier Doug Ford or the Progressive Conservative Party to foot the bill.
The government late Wednesday released long-awaited documents and receipts from its purchase of the used 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650, which sparked fierce criticism when it became public knowledge. Mr. Ford decided to resell the jet two days after that revelation in April.
The documents show Ontario has to pay nearly $200,000 in extra costs related to the purchase, including for legal advice, maintenance, storage and inspection services. The charges, which amounted to $190,865.56, do not include taxes.
Opposition parties at Queen’s Park railed against the government’s decision to purchase the jet, and said the public should not have to pay any of the extra costs.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles on Thursday introduced a motion in the legislature that called on Mr. Ford to pay the charges personally. But it was defeated after dissent from the government benches.
Ontario to pay nearly $200,000 in extra costs tied to private jet purchase
Speaking to reporters afterward, Ms. Stiles said the government is having a “party with the taxpayer dollars,” and said the Premier had assured the public it wouldn’t be on the hook for any additional expenses for the plane.
“They lied to the people of Ontario. They’re going to be out $200,000 for the Premier’s midlife jet crisis. And I think it’s outrageous,” she said.
Ms. Stiles later added: “I think the Premier of this province should dip into his own pockets, for a change, instead of the taxpayers’ pockets, and pay up.”
She also said the total cost for the plane could be upward of $30-million, because the original purchase price did not include the 13-per-cent harmonized sales tax.
Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said the PC Party should pay the extra fees if Mr. Ford can’t cover them himself.
“I’m sure they’re rolling in cash, and the Ontario taxpayer shouldn’t have to pay for, you know, burning through $200,000 so the Premier could live his fantasy of owning a luxury private jet,” he told reporters Thursday.
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Neither Mr. Ford’s office nor the PC Party responded to requests for comment about repaying the costs.
The Premier was not at Question Period on Thursday and did not take questions from reporters. Asked whether Mr. Ford should repay the costs himself, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli told reporters the Premier had already made comments about the jet, before swiftly walking away.
Mr. Ford told The Globe and Mail in a brief interview before the final costs were revealed on Wednesday that he didn’t know the total price tag. Asked how he could justify extra charges for the plane, he said: “We listened to the people. It was the wrong time. And we sent it back.”
Invoices show that – as Mr. Ford has said publicly – the government last month sold the jet back to plane maker Bombardier for US$21-million, or about C$28.9-million.
The invoices also show the government and Bombardier paid an additional US$2.73-million in HST for the plane, for a total of US$23.73-million.
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Opposition politicians seized on the move to buy the used Bombardier jet for the Premier and other ministers to use on foreign trade missions or travel within Ontario when it was first revealed on April 17.
At the time, the Premier’s Office defended the purchase as necessary for Mr. Ford’s travel to meet with other premiers and the Prime Minister, as well as trips to the United States to shore up support for Ontario businesses and lobby against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
But just two days later, the Premier’s Office said the government was selling the plane, with Mr. Ford acknowledging he had heard concerns from the public about the cost. But he also said he faced more scrutiny than other politicians, including in the federal government, which has spent hundreds of millions on jets for security operations.
Mr. Ford then said on April 22 that the plane had been sold back to the manufacturer for the “exact same price” the government had spent on it.
The documents show the government first signed a letter of intent to purchase the jet in January, followed by a $500,000 deposit.