Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the government has sold the private jet it took possession of last week for the same price it was bought for.
Speaking at an unrelated event on Wednesday morning, the premier said the second-hand Challenger 650 had been sold back to Bombardier for $28.9 million.
The government’s private jet purchase lasted barely a week before Ford was forced to reluctantly return the aircraft, which critics had labelled the “gravy plane.”
“We gave it back to Bombardier for the exact same price, no one lost any money,” Ford said at a conference held by The Globe and Mail.
The premier’s office didn’t respond to requests to share any documents associated with the jet’s purchase or sale, like receipts or invoices.
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Critics are challenging the government to prove details of the sale and resale are true.
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“This is easy to settle, just show us the bills,” Ontario NDP MPP John Vantof challenged the government.
“They said it was a mistake. Show us the paperwork. It shouldn’t be that hard. Buying a jet right now isn’t top secret information, right? The premier said that the whole cabinet agreed. He’s already broken cabinet confidentiality. So, just show the bills of sale.”
Although the government now says it has sold the jet, the premier appears to already be regretting the decision, saying he made a mistake in how he communicated, not in purchasing the jet.
“I should have went out there, put the case forward to the people, and I didn’t,” the premier mused at Queen’s Park on Tuesday. “I should have done it quicker; I’ll take responsibility.”
Ford said it wasn’t a mistake to buy the plane and suggested the media had inaccurately framed it as his own private jet.
“I’m not complaining,” he insisted.
“The purpose of my plane was not my private plane. And I understand it just gets more clicks, but it just wasn’t accurate. I’ll take responsibility, I won’t blame you, folks.”
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Ford recounted “terrifying” flights over northern Ontario, planes without bathrooms, delayed arrivals when flying commercial and an incident where someone called him names during a flight.
The government’s political opponents commented, saying Ford was throwing himself a “pity party” and didn’t need his own plane.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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