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TORONTO — Taxpayers would have saved $1.8 billion if the Ontario government had taken on traditional debt to fund infrastructure projects instead of partially privatizing Hydro One to pay for the work, the province’s fiscal watchdog said Monday.

In a report that examined the Liberal government’s sale of shares in the utility, the Financial Accountability Office examined both scenarios and found the cost implications were clear.

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“Over the long term, the FAO estimates that the province’s net debt will be higher as a result of the partial sale of Hydro One when compared to an alternative of borrowing to finance an equivalent amount of infrastructure investment,” said Jeffrey Novak, chief financial analyst for the FAO.

Hydro One went public in November 2015, with the province saying it planned to use the sale of shares to fund transit and infrastructure projects. By December 2017, the province had sold off 53 per cent of its stake in the company.