The so-called “Gravy Plane” has been grounded before it even took flight. Just days after revealing the purchase of a nearly $30 million private jet, Premier Doug Ford says his government is now selling the plane.
“Despite the best of intentions, I have heard and agree that now is not the right time for the expense of a government plane,” Ford said in a statement to CityNews on Sunday.
“The province is working with Bombardier and other partners to sell the plane as quickly as possible.”
On Friday, the government said it had spent $28.9 million to purchase a used Challenger 650 jet to support the premier’s travel across the province, Canada and the United States. They noted that the purchase was cheaper than the $107 million Quebec taxpayers paid for two new Challenger jets and one used one.
The announcement was slammed by opposition parties at Queen’s Park, who pointed out that the expensive purchase came during an extended affordability crisis for many Ontarians, with New Democrat Leader Marit Stiles and interim Liberal leader John Fraser both calling the jet Ford’s “gravy plane.”
Fraser said Sunday that Ford’s reversal over the plane purchase doesn’t necessarily mean provincial coffers will be made whole.
“Now, only after intense backlash, he’s scrambling to sell his gravy plane. But it could easily be sold at a loss and sit on the books as a liability for taxpayers for months,” he said.
“How much is this going to cost Ontarians? We may never know,” Fraser added, referring to the province’s controversial plan to make the premier’s records — and those of his cabinet ministers — secret through changes to freedom-of-information laws.
“Ontario can’t afford a Premier who lavishes himself in luxury and operates under the cover of darkness and secrecy, while he messes up everything under his control,” Fraser said.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Ford only got “buyer’s remorse” because of the backlash he faced following the plane’s purchase.
“Doug Ford is turning the plane around mid-air for an emergency landing because he got caught living like a rockstar on your dime,” she said in a social media post. “Just like the Greenbelt: Ford only reverses when the heat gets too hot.”
Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner says the premier needs to answer as to why he’s “out of touch with the struggles people are facing.”
“Let’s be honest—the Premier is only selling the jet because he got caught. He would have been happy to keep spending our money in secrecy had the sale not been leaked,” he said in a statement.
An old foe from Ford’s days as a city councillor also chimed in on the premier’s reversal.
“One less jet landing on our waterfront. When it comes to Doug Ford’s bullying, wasteful spending and hiding from accountability, it’s always worth taking a stand and fighting back,” Toronto councillor Josh Matlow said in a social media post.
In 2019, Ford brushed off the idea of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a plane, opting instead for a customized van to roam the province.
“I’m the only premier in history that refuses to use the premier’s plane, the King Air, that costs the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. I prefer to drive around and talk to the people about things that matter,” Ford said at the time.
Ford, a notoriously fickle flyer with an intense fear of air travel, has chartered flights to the United States in the past when on trips to promote Ontario and he often flies within the province on smaller OPP planes.
Ontario previously operated government aircraft but sold off its fleet in 2015.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report