Press Release |
Dalton McGuinty Keeps Handing Out Untendered Contracts
Today in the Legislature – March 3, 2011
QUEEN’S PARK – Despite his solemn vow in June 2009 to stop doling out untendered contracts, Dalton McGunity has handed out another untendered contract for the train cars for the Air Rail Link, approved by the Metrolinx Board and the Minister of Transportation.
A letter from Coulter Osborne confirms that Metrolinx did not issue a public tender. In fact, the letter clearly states that the government imposed such onerous time constraints on Metrolinx that it made it impossible to issue a public tender and forced them to rely on the State of California’s bidding process.
This should not be a shock to Ontario families who have seen Dalton McGuinty hand out sole source deals at Samsung, the Windsor Energy Centre, the LHINs and Casino Niagara – just to name a few examples. After backtracking on his Oakville power plant to save Kevin Flynn’s seat, Dalton McGuinty needs to confirm that he won’t add an untendered contract in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge to the list.
QUOTES
“In the wake of the eHealth scandal, the Premier gave his solemn commitment that he had put a stop to the practice of sole-sourcing government contracts yet he handed over multi-million dollar, sole-sourced contract for the purchase of train cars for the Air Rail Link.”
-- Frank Klees, MPP Newmarket Aurora
“After backtracking on the Oakville power plant to save a seat, we need Dalton McGuinty to confirm that he will not handout another untendered contract in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge.”
--John Yakabuski, MPP Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke
QUICK FACTS
- "Today we are going to move to close those loopholes, to toughen up those rules, to act in a way that better protects the interests of Ontario taxpayers." (Dalton McGuinty, June 17, 2009)
- A letter from Coulter Osborne confirms that Metrolinx did not issue a public tender because of the government’s onerous time constraints.
Page 34 of the Long Term Energy Plan says, “the procurement of a peaking natural gas-fired plant in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area is still necessary.”
Contact Frank Klees, MPP
Newmarket-Aurora
905-750-0019
February 23, 2011
Untendered Contracts on Fast Track
Mr. Frank Klees: To the Minister of Transportation: This government, through Metrolinx, is poised to sign a multi-million dollar contract with a foreign manufacturer for the purchase of diesel rail cars for use on the airport Rail Link. A request for information was issued but there was never a formal tendering process, no competitive bidding for this contract. Apparently Metrolinx and the Minister of Transportation are content to rely on a tender process issued by the state of California.
How does the minister justify yet another multi-million-dollar untendered contract? ...