…….That would be consistent with Liberal Tourism Minister Monique Smith’s decision last week to force the Niagara Parks Commission to run a bidding process to find a company to provide boat tours on the Niagara River, Hudak said.
A competitive bidding process could lead to some other company replacing the Maid of the Mist as the provider of boat tours on the Niagara River. Officials with the Maid company say they’ll take whatever actions are necessary to prevent the government from giving that lease to someone else.
After a “great chat” about the Maid of the Mist lease at a cabinet meeting, McGuinty’s government decided the parks commission should invite companies to bid on the right to lease the property historically used by the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Co., as its base to run its Canadian operations.
“We came ultimately to the conclusion this is not a monopoly. It’s time for us to open up the process … for the very first time,” McGuinty said.
McGuinty has been pushing new rules requiring more government business to be done through competitive bids after his government was embarrassed in June by the revelation millions of dollars in contracts had been issued at eHealth Ontario, an agency that digitizes health records, without going to tender.
The government would ensure whoever wins the Maid of the Mist lease continues to provide a popular attraction.
“Whoever wins this can maintain the broad appeal that this operation holds for tourism in southern Ontario. It’s a very important feature for this part of the province,” McGuinty said……..
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