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Ontario’s new treasury board president won’t say how much the Ford government spent cancelling a $100 million deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service, as public accounts show the decision has hampered rural broadband rollout.
At the start of the trade war with the United States, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced he would rip up a deal with Musk, then a close ally of President Donald Trump.
The province has previously said the kill fee for what was set to be a $100-million deal is “significantly less than the contract value,” and the amount paid out was part of a negotiated settlement.
On Thursday, former infrastructure minister King Surma — who now oversees government spending as the president of the treasury board — again refused to confirm the cost.
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“I would say that the decision remained with the taxpayer, that was a big component of our election — and the people voted to cancel the contract,” she told reporters.
“So we continue to move forward with our broadband strategy.”
Surma, who held the title of infrastructure minister until this month and signed the Starlink deal, directed detailed questions to her successor.
“That specific question, you’ll have to ask the Minister of Infrastructure,” she said.
The latest public accounts, which detail public spending, confirm concerns that cancelling the Starlink contract would hamper Ontario’s rural broadband rollout.
“As you will see in public accounts, we’ve spent a little bit less on the broadband initiative only because we’ve found some challenges because we’ve cancelled that contract,” Surma said. “But the work continues.”
Last year, officials with the government quietly accepted the target of connecting all underserved communities to fast broadband by 2025 would not be met. The target was moved to 2028.
One of the reasons the goal needs to be moved, a source told Global News at the time, was the ripple effect of Premier Doug Ford’s decision to scrap a $100 million contract with Musk’s satellite Starlink internet service.
The government source, speaking confidentially, said there were no “feasible” alternatives to Starlink that the province could use. They said officials are working through other options, but none are yet ready.
Essentially, the source said, no other satellite internet options can take on the slack left by cancelling the Starlink deal, with alternatives like Rogers satellite utilizing Musk’s company’s resources.
The broadband plan has also met with construction delays in remote parts of the province.
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