Ontera sale costs Ontario taxpayers $61M: report

NORTH BAY, ON – Ontario’s Liberal government is being criticized for selling provincially-owned Ontera to Bell Aliant at a $61 million loss.Ontera, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, owns and operates a high-capacity fibre-optic telecommunications line (or ring) that provides voice, video and data connectivity to Southern Ontario for telecommunications companies operating in Northern Ontario.According to a Toronto Star report, Bell Aliant paid $6.3 million for Ontera, less than the $6.5 million the province paid consultants, lawyers and others advising the government on the sale.Newly released documents from a Public Accounts report states “a loss on disposal...