Tuesday’s annual report from Ontario’s auditor general shows costs for redeveloping Ontario Place ballooned to $1.8 billion, with the AG alleging a process for the monumental project that was neither fair nor transparent.
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Speaking during a morning press conference at Queen’s Park, Auditor General Shelley Spence said a number of costs totalling $950 million weren’t fully considered during the project’s planning phases.
“As a master developer, the province is responsible for over $950 million in costs to develop Ontario Place, including costs for the public realm, parking and connecting public transit from exhibition place to Ontario Place,” Spence said.
“None of these costs were presented to decision-makers when Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Tourism recommended a multi-partner approach.”
Ontario Place was among 10 separate performance audit reports released Tuesday by the AG, investigating such issues as the Ontario Land Tribunal, Ontario’s Immigrant Nominee Program, Ontario’s opioid strategy, and the Toronto District School Board.
Spence also cited problems with the development process, calling it neither fair nor transparent, alleging that one of the participants — later identified as a preferred developer — was allowed to submit their submission after the deadline.
Some bidders also had meetings with government staff during the process, which is against the rules.
The report stated that an executive at Infrastructure Ontario responsible for conducting financial assessments communicated directly with a bidder, consisting of nine emails and one call with Therme Canada — the firm tasked with redeveloping the site.
More to come . . .