“We found that the social and environmental benefits of redevelopment were not factored into the assessment framework or considered in the redevelopment, including in the lease negotiations with anchor tenants,” the audit said, noting “rules and guidelines ... were not followed” and “the assessment process was irregular, subjective and not always followed.”
“We found that the (call for development) process and realty decisions were not fair, transparent or accountable to all participants,” the auditor said.
Spence, who succeeded long-time auditor Bonnie Lysyk in January, found Ontario Place redevelopment costs to the province have ballooned by a staggering $1.8 billion to an estimated $2.237 billion.
Her audit said that “contrary to the protocol” for such negotiations involving developers, “three participants attended meetings with staff from the Minister’s Office and the Premier’s Office early in the open period in June and July 2019.”
As well some would-be bidders “had direct access to an Infrastructure Ontario executive,” who exchanged nine emails and had one phone call with Therme’s legal counsel after media interest in the company’s potential plans for Ontario Place.
Unusually, “minutes of meetings with participants were not kept” so it is not known whether everyone involved “had equal access to the information that was shared” at those closed-door confabs.
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