Jul 18, 2018
Accountant tapped to probe Ontario books is bracing for review to be politicized
A veteran forensic accountant tapped by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to be part of an independent commission to probe Ontario’s books says the review is necessary, but he is prepared to have the findings politicized.
“I am used to getting shot at,” Al Rosen founder of Accountability Research Corporation told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday.
The commission is being led by former British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell as well as Michael Horgan, a consultant and former senior public servant who will work alongside Rosen.
The group was unveiled earlier this week by the newly-elected Ford, who has accused the previous Liberal government of cooking the province’s books and understating provincial debt.
It’s an unusual move to name a commission to investigate a previous government, but Rosen said it’s necessary to clear up confusion about the actual state of Ontario’s finances.
“The public is very confused about some of the things that happened last year, especially regarding pensions and also regarding the rate cut on hydro and what happened,” he said.
Earlier this year, Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk labelled the accounting treatment of the Liberal Fair Hydro Plan as “bogus.” She said the plan – which introduced significant, temporary reductions to Ontarians’ electricity bills – could cost taxpayers about $1.3 billion.
The commission has not started their work yet but Rosen says the Hydro accounting appears questionable.
“On this hydro thing it’s easy: How can you pay $100 to the people supplying the electricity and collect only $70 from the public?” he said. “When you follow the money it’s pretty obvious that the $30 has to be borrowed.”
Rosen has a long history of calling out Canadian public companies for their accounting practises, which he says will prepare him for his work on Ontario’s provincial finances.
“We do this all the time,” he said. “We say we have analyzed these companies, [and ] here are the ones you should buy, here are the ones you should run away fast from. I am used to criticism, that doesn’t bother me.”