Ontario’s finance scrutiny tops Ford’s priority list

A little after the victory of  Progressive Conservatives (PCs), Tory advisers started working with Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government to make sure that the transition of  power was smooth.

Dean French, Ford's closest adviser during the campaign, would be his chief of staff at Queen’s Park.

Chris Froggatt, who had been a chief of staff in the Stephen Harper government, would reportedly lead Ford’s transition team.

The team would also include Rueben Devlin, the former head of a Toronto-area hospital, and former public relations executive Mike Coates, former Conservative MP John Baird and Simone Daniels, an executive from the Ford family’s label-printing business. 

“We know the hard work has just begun, but we intend to act fast … we’ve already hit the ground running,” Ford said in a news conference in Etobicoke. “We have a clear mandate from the people and we want to make sure, over the next four years, our mandate gets fulfilled.”

Although the outgoing Liberals had projected this year's deficit to be $6.7 billion, Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office revealed a deficit as high as $12 billion.

“We have to see the financial situation that’s been left behind, and over the next couple days and weeks, you’re going to hear from us, but the most important thing is getting our fiscal house in order,” Ford was reported to say.

He added that before he delivers his agenda, which included cutting down income taxes, putting an end to province’s cap-and-trade system, and reduction of the minimum price of a bottle of beer to $1, he will hire an outside auditor to scrutinize the province’s financial books.

According to official reports, Wynne and her cabinet would remain in legislature until June 29.

“That rebuilding will happen starting today,” Wynne said, adding that she would be representing her Toronto-area riding in the legislature.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)