Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the province has sold off a private jet it purchased for $28.9 million following an outcry.
“I can announce we sold the plane for the same price right back to Bombardier,” Premier Doug Ford said at a Toronto event hosted by The Globe and Mail Wednesday.
The comment comes days after Ford’s office said he’d sell off the plane.
It’s not yet clear what additional expenses the province incurred around the jet purchase, which was dubbed “the gravy plane” by the opposition and slammed by critics as being “out of touch” during an affordability crisis.
In a statement to CTV Toronto, Bombardier confirmed the return of the plane.
“We can confirm that Bombardier has purchased the aircraft back from the Ontario government,” the company said in an email.
However the company said it cannot disclose details about the contract due to its confidentiality policy.
Ford said Tuesday the paperwork around the procurement for the plane would be made public after the plane was sold off, but his office said Wednesday it would not be available today.
Opposition Leader Marit Stiles has called on Ford to personally repay any additional costs around the jet purchase and sale. She also sent a letter this week to Ontario Auditor General Shelley Spence requesting “a comprehensive audit and investigation” into the purchase and resale of the jet.
“There are serious and growing concerns about the financial stewardship, transparency, and overall value for money associated with this transaction,” Stiles wrote in her letter to the auditor.
For his part, Ford said earlier this week he believes the jet was needed, but that he’d sell it off anyhow after hearing “loud and clear” from the public.
Still, the premier said he believed a “double standard” was being applied to him, and that he’s the most scrutinized politician in Canada, including Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Speaking with reporters at Queen’s Park Tuesday, he described the case for the purchase, saying it was “kind of embarrassing” a province the size of Ontario doesn’t have a government plane.
The province does have a fleet of aircraft, but they are not always available for the premier’s use and he often travels on commercial flights.
Among other things, he suggested the jet could have been used to ferry around other cabinet ministers, and perhaps even to assist in rescues from Northern Ontario communities.
That prompted opposition critics to quickly point out that a Challenger jet cannot land on most of the gavel runways in Northern Ontario.
Asked about that at a fireside chat with Globe and Mail Reporter Laura Stone Wednesday, Ford said “it’s about time.”
He said a recent trip to Texas netted $6 billion in investments and would not have been possible if he had not chartered a jet to make more than a dozen appointments across three cities in just two days.
“I just want to say that at a time when families are struggling with groceries, gas, rent, the premier bought himself a luxury jet,” Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said Tuesday.
He pointed out the provincial debt now stands at around $500 billion.
“You don’t get more out of touch than that,” Fraser said
With files from Queen’s Park Bureau Chief Siobhan Morris
