Mayor John Tory says he has not been presented with a plan to sell part of Toronto Hydro to cover the city’s share of SmartTrack despite a report suggesting that the move is being considered behind the scenes.
The Toronto Star is reporting that work is ongoing for the possible sale of a minority stake in the city-owned utility but Tory told CP24 on Friday afternoon that he has not been made aware of any such plan.
“There are all kinds of ideas floating around every day but I can tell you that there is no plan in front of me, there has been no plan in front of me and I am not expecting a plan to be in front of me that has to do with Toronto Hydro,” he said.
The Star, citing unnamed sources, reports senior staff and advisers to Tory had been contemplating a partial sale of Toronto Hydro even before the mayor was sworn in.
The newspaper said that such a sale could generate up to $1.5 billion, which would help cover part of the city’s estimated $3 billion share of the $8 billion SmartTrack rapid transit project.
Though sources confirmed to the Star that Tory has not taken part in any “detailed discussions” about the sale of Toronto Hydro, the newspaper suggested that the idea is very much alive.
On Friday Coun. Mike Layton also stoked the fire, tweeting that there were “disturbing questions about selling public assets at budget committee” and that he has “the feeling something is in the works behind closed doors.”
Speaking with CP24, Tory did not give an indication of where he would stand on a partial sale but stressed that it is just not on his agenda at this point.
“I have suggested a levy to pay for transit and housing and I am going to get that done first and we will go from there but there is no such proposal in front of me right now,” he said.
In 2014, Toronto Hydro brought in $60.6 million for the city, according to the Star.
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