Vic Fedeli suspects report will shed new light on ONTC expenses

The actual cost of divesting the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission is expected come to light this afternoon.

Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli asked the province's auditor general to look at claims the move would save the government hundreds of millions of dollars.

Fedeli said he discovered financial documents earlier this year that indicated wrapping up the ONTC would actually cost hundreds of millions of dollars and he believes the Auditor General will confirm his suspicions today.

They got caught fudging the numbers, Fedeli said.

I think that was really what it was all about. They loaded [the estimate] up with one-time costs, which brought the expense to over a hundred million and said well, we are going to save 100 million dollars a year by cancelling this. But that was all false.

Fedeli says costs like a pension liability and severances for employees are the reason divesting the ONTC would cost so much.

The Auditor General is expected to reveal her findings about ONTC this afternoon.