Ontario Finance Minister Ernie Eves says a Toronto Olympics won’t leave provincial taxpayers with a debt souvenir.
Eves told reporters “we’ve said from day one that they would pay for themselves”. But although he’s not expecting the Games to go into the red, Eves said he’s prepared to give the International Olympic Committee a letter of guarantee that the provincial government will cover any cost-overruns.
Eves said when he was in Australia he spoked to New South Wales Treasurer Michael Eagan and was told the state government had to virtualy go it alone with no help from other levels of government. He said the Ontario government is working cooperatively with municipal and federal levels.
Meanwhile Toronto Sun Queen’s Park Bureau reporter Antonella Artuso writes that Eagan is warning of a new sales tax to pay off massive debts incurred while preparing for the Sydney Summer Games.
