TORONTO -- Ontario's independent legislative officers have banded together in a rare move to condemn the Liberal government's plan to sell a majority of Hydro One.
A letter signed by the eight officers, including the auditor general and the ombudsman, calls on the government to reverse its plan because they say selling Hydro One "will significantly reduce important oversight powers."
The Liberals announced last month they intended to sell 60 per cent of Hydro One to generate money for public transit projects, but the initial public offering will only be 15 per cent.
The legislative officers will lose their oversight powers because the utility will become a publicly traded company, though the oversight ends even before the majority stake is sold.
They say the auditor general won't be able to conduct performance audits, the ombudsman won't be able to investigate public complaints and the integrity commissioner won't be able to review Hydro One expense claims.
Deputy Premier Deb Matthews says publicly traded companies come with a different set of oversights and the government has to make that transition slowly and carefully.
