Doug Ford’s political opponents are criticizing the premier, who they say “burned through” almost $200,000 in the few days the government owned a private jet, as details of the purchase emerge.
A flurry of invoices, contracts and briefing notes sent out on Wednesday afternoon revealed the timeline for the premier’s brief purchase of a second-hand Bombardier Challenger 650, which dated back to January.
They also show that public statements from the premier’s office about the plane omitted key details.
In particular, records of purchase and resale show the $28.9 million figure the government quoted it paid for the plane didn’t include taxes. Adding in HST, the plane was priced north of $30 million.
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Elsewhere, a briefing note released by the government confirms the public paid almost $200,000 in extra costs for purchasing the jet that Bombardier did not repay.
Around $18,000 went to an aviation acquisition expert, while another $140,000 went to aircraft management services. An external legal expert also cost the taxpayer $33,000.
“This is a tired, out-of-touch Premier who looked at a $28.9 million plane, knew the hundreds of thousands in holding costs it would incur, and bought it anyway,” Ontario Liberal interim leader John Fraser said in a statement.
“It doesn’t matter if they sold it: Doug Ford and his Conservative government will always own this private jet. Every single cabinet minister signed off on it, and they have 16 million Ontarians to answer to.”
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford had lied when he promised Ontarians wouldn’t be out of pocket for the purchase.
“He told us there were no additional costs for returning it. He lied,” she wrote on social media.
“While Ontarians can’t afford groceries or rent, Ford is living like a rockstar on your dime.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation also chastised the premier.
“Premier Ford got caught billing taxpayers for a private jet. Now taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $200k to send the jet back and forth,” Noah Jarvis, the group’s Ontario director, wrote on social media.
“$200k down the drain, just like that.”
The premier’s office did not address questions about the extra costs in time for publication.
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