With Ontario facing close to a $24.7 billion deficit this year, it has been reported that the provincial government is looking into the possible sale of a fraction, or all, of many of its 'crown corporations,' including the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).
An article today by The Globe and Mail explains that in addition to the OLG and LCBO, other crown candidates for sale include Hydro One Inc. and Ontario Power Generation.
The OLG operates the slots-at-racetracks program in Ontario.
The Globe and Mail article states that Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty recently hired two banks with experience in privatization for a 'blueprint' for the possible privatization of agencies.
“These assets are worth billions and billions of dollars, and I think it's incumbent upon us to look at all of them and to make sure that we're maximizing them," the article quotes Ontario finance minister Dwight Duncan as saying in October.
Click here to the read The Globe and Mail article in its entirety.
(With files from The Globe and Mail)