TORONTO - The Niagara Parks Commission is being ordered to review its decision to renew the contract for the Maid of the Mist tour boats without taking competitive bids.
The province is telling the Parks Commission to revisit the 25-year renewal given to the Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company to ferry tourists up close to Niagara Falls.
Ontario's integrity commissioner cleared commission chairman Jim Williams of any wrongdoing in renewing the contract after a complaint from a former parks commissioner.
However, the integrity commissioner also called for a government review of the park commission's procurement policies.
An American businessman also took the commission to court in an attempt to stop what he described as a secret lease renewal from proceeding.
A government-ordered audit recommended the commission develop a formal, written policy for revenue generating opportunities like the Maid of the Mist lease.
The Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company leases land from the parks commission on the Canadian shore of the Niagara River as a base for its tour boats.
