PREMIER’S HIGH-PRICED HORSE RACING PANEL BILLS TAXPAYERS $500,000

Jacqui Delaney —

“With 60,000 people at risk of losing their jobs in Ontario’s horse racing industry, the Premier doled out more than $500,000 for high-priced consultants,” said PC MPP Randy Pettapiece, the Ontario PC Deputy Critic for Agriculture.

Pettapiece raised the issue in Question Period today, after accessing documents through a Freedom of Information request. Those documents reveal how the Premier’s Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel billed taxpayers $526,649 in compensation and expenses between June 2012 and March 2013.

Panelists regularly billed the government $750 a day for attending meetings, or just participating in conference calls. Other expenses approved included a $10laundry bill.

“Folks involved in horse racing risk losing their livelihoods,” said Pettapiece. “Meanwhile, former politicians and consultants are profiting from this latest Liberal mess. And with the panel still drafting its final report, the meter is still running.”

Pettapiece’s Freedom of Information documents regarding the Horse Racing Industry Transition Panel can be found online at http://ontpc.co/17ScH4c