After it became clear the MNDM approach to ONTC could not be spun into a good news story, the Liberals came up with Plan B. What was once "divestment" became "transformation", which in Liberal-speak means divestment is still on the table, but for now, we are going to throw it away bit by bit, because frankly, we don't have a clue how to run it. We need the votes prior to the election, but after that, we are free to do what we want, regardless of any advisory committee input.
This is the key line in their April 4, 2014 news release:
The province will make strategic new investments to ensure ONTC’s transportation services and infrastructure continues to support economic growth in northeastern Ontario.
It says absolutely nothing about not divesting ONTC, merely that their services and assets will be used to support economic growth. Given the model put forward by the Ontera sale, the most likely company to deliver those services and maintain that infrastructure would be CN, which would effectively destroy rail freight competition in the North also.
Now that the Liberals are having difficulty finding a flag bearer to carry the Liberal banner in the Nipissing district, I imagine the question any potential candidate asks first is "What are you going to do with the ONTC file?"
The answer is either "We don't know" or "Carry it through the election, then dump it", neither of which would appeal to anyone asked to invest in an expensive campaign. The announcement of a new plan to transform ONTC rather than divest was the only way the Liberals could hope to chip away at the solid base for PC candidate, Vic Fedeli, but here again, the Liberals shot themselves in the foot.
For whatever reason, the Liberals thought they could announce the sale of Ontera and not suffer any fallout in their bid to oust Fedeli. Unfortunately, for them, the move was seen as an indication of what the real intentions are for Northern Ontario by the Liberal dream team and has so far prevented them from even getting into the race.
If the CRTC and/or the Competition Bureau get enough involved and look at the issue of competition in the telecom industry in Northern Ontario, the federal agency will likely rule against the proposed provincial sale. If that happens, the Liberals, (if they are still in power) will be forced to go to Plan C, which has probably not popped up on the GTA radar yet.
Contact the CRTC
Contact the Competition Bureau
NORTHERN ONTARIO - POLITICAL ISSUES An opinion on the issues affecting the province and primarily Northern Ontario
