To the editor,
As a lifelong resident of Northwestern Ontario and a proud supporter of the Conservative Party, I am deeply concerned by NOMA’s recent push to expand Ontario Northland’s (ONTC) bus services into areas already served by private operators. This isn’t about solving transportation issues, it’s about wasting taxpayer money on bad investments and paving the way for more government overreach into sectors better served by private businesses.
Let’s be clear: ONTC is a Crown corporation that operates at a significant loss, funded by public dollars. Meanwhile, private companies like Kasper Bus Lines and many others across Ontario have been serving our communities efficiently and affordably without dipping into taxpayers’ wallets. Why should public funds be used to unfairly compete with private businesses that are already doing the job? If ONTC’s expansion fails, as it has in places like Hornpayne, they’ll simply pull out, leaving taxpayers holding the bag and communities with even fewer options.
The lessons of history couldn’t be clearer. In the late 1980s, ONTC ventured into the airline industry with NorOntair, aiming to enhance air connectivity across Northern Ontario. Despite government support, NorOntair struggled to achieve profitability while competing with private operators like Bearskin Airlines, which had established itself as a reliable service provider in the region. Overlapping routes and market saturation made the competition unsustainable. By 1996, NorOntair’s unsustainable financial losses forced its closure, leaving taxpayers to cover the costs. Private carriers like Bearskin Airlines ultimately expanded to fill the void. This failure is a stark warning: government-run enterprises funded by taxpayers cannot effectively compete with private businesses. Yet ONTC seems intent on repeating this mistake, this time with buses.
For example, ONTC pulled out of Hornpayne after initially expanding there, leaving communities with fewer options and demonstrating the risks of unsustainable expansions. This pattern of overreach and retreat highlights how public funds are wasted while private operators are left to clean up the mess.
This raises a bigger issue: where does it stop? If the government can justify taking over bus routes, why not grocery stores, pharmacies, or even hardware stores? Using the same logic, we could become a state-run economy where private businesses have no place, reducing competition and innovation. That’s not the Canada we want. It’s a slippery slope that undermines free enterprise and turns taxpayers into perpetual funders of government mismanagement.
The timing of this expansion is especially tone-deaf. Both Ontario and federal governments are preparing to implement austerity measures, asking departments to find savings because no new money is coming. How, then, can a publicly funded Crown corporation justify expanding into areas already well-served by private operators? This is not just irresponsible, it’s reckless.
Since 2015, the size of government has grown by an astonishing 47%, with public sector wages becoming the leading driver of GDP growth while the rest of the economy stagnates. Taxpayers are footing the bill for a bloated public sector that isn’t delivering value for money. Today, we see the effects of such reckless spending: the Canadian dollar has fallen to 1.401 against the U.S. dollar, the weakest it’s been in years. This devaluation hits every Canadian’s wallet, and expansions like ONTC’s will only make things worse.
If NOMA and ONTC truly want to address transportation challenges, they should focus on areas without existing services, not undermine private businesses with taxpayer-funded competition. Partnering with private operators would cost less and deliver better results, especially at a time when governments are asking departments to tighten their belts.
Finally, I urge the Doug Ford government to stay true to conservative principles. Expanding publicly funded operations to compete with private businesses is not conservative policy, nor is it what Ontarians voted for. These actions are bad for business, bad for taxpayers, and do not align with the fiscal responsibility or free-market values that the Conservative Party stands for. Ontario voters elected a government to promote growth and opportunity, not to adopt policies that hurt private enterprise and contradict its own political spectrum.
I also call on Alan Spacek, chairman of ONTC, to carefully consider the long-term consequences of this decision. ONTC narrowly escaped being dismantled during the budget cuts of 2012, and its continued existence depends on demonstrating value to taxpayers. Reckless expansions into markets already served by private businesses could be the final nail in the coffin for ONTC, ensuring it ends up back on the chopping block during the next round of budget cuts. If that happens, taxpayers may ultimately be better served, but it would reflect poorly on those responsible for these missteps.
To put it in perspective, ONTC’s operations remain heavily reliant on government funding to cover deficits. In the most recent fiscal year, ONTC received $53.7 million in provincial funding to offset its operational costs. Without these public dollars, ONTC would have faced a significant deficit, raising the question of why further expansion into competitive markets should be allowed when private operators can provide service more efficiently and at no cost to taxpayers.
It’s time for taxpayers to demand accountability. Why are our dollars being used to compete with private businesses that are already delivering affordable and reliable services? Why are we subsidizing inefficiency while the private sector struggles to survive? These are questions that NOMA, ONTC, and our elected officials need to answer before moving forward with any expansion.
I urge NOMA and ONTC to halt these ill-advised plans and for our elected representatives to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency. Taxpayers deserve better than to see their money wasted on initiatives that have already failed us in the past. Let’s stop wasting taxpayer money and start building a transportation system that works for everyone, without jeopardizing the businesses already doing the job or diverting critical tax dollars that municipalities need.
Sincerely,
Jim B.
Thunder Bay
