Ontera fire sale Getting Worse” says Vanthof
KIRKLAND LAKE, ON – NDP Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof is clearly frustrated following the Competition Bureau’s warning that the Liberal government’s sale of Ontera would give buyer Bell Aliant the power to shut out telecom rivals in the North.
The Liberals signed-off on a ‘no-questions asked’ monopoly for Bell Aliant, and it wasn’t until the Competition Bureau raised alarms that things changed. While Bell Aliant has agreed to lease part of the infrastructure to Eastlink, Vanthof questioned what guarantees are in place in terms of maintaining services and keeping costs down after the lease expires, and whether there will be ongoing oversight to ensure northerners are protected.
“New Democrats and the Auditor General warned the Liberal government that the sell-off of Ontera made no sense and was a bad deal for northerners. However, the Liberals rushed ahead anyway and signed a deal that was not only a fire sale, but could also have given Bell Aliant monopoly control over the internet and telecommunications in 16 Northern Ontario communities,” said Vanthof.
“This is what happens when the Liberals start a fire sale of public assets. They sell our public assets on the cheap, Ontarians are left without guarantees of services or cost, and families see zero benefit,” added Vanthof.
Ontera was the telecommunications division of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC). Last December, the Auditor-General reported that the Liberal government’s proposed divestment of ONTC could have put taxpayers on the hook for more than $820 million in costs and liabilities, as opposed to the $250 million in savings that the government promised. In April, the government backed off from the full sale of ONTC, but still proceeded with the sale of Ontera to Bell Aliant, despite NDP warnings.
The value of the sale was $6 million cash plus $10 million in “long term revenue.” The ONTC’s most recent annual report lists Ontera’s net book value as $38 million, more than twice the value of the Bell Aliant deal. Ontera’s assets include about $20 million in recently-purchased fibre optic ring infrastructure.
“This was a terrible deal for Ontarians and for northern communities,” said Vanthof. “This government’s habit of signing bad deals and blindly selling off public assets are leaving Ontarians paying the tab.”
