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Liberals are using their majority clout to keep secret the financial records on the money-losing MaRS office tower.

Grit MPPs at the legislatures estimate committee Tuesday blocked all attempts by opposition members to shine a light on financial dealings connected to the more than two-thirds empty 20-storey building.

Progressive Conservative MPP Randy Hillier asked Infrastructure Minister Brad Duguid to supply, among other things, a business case that led to the Liberal government loaning MaRS $224 million to build the tower.

What you are asking me right now to respond to is information that I do not know exists, the minister said.

Duguid, who emphasized he wasnt even minister in 2010 when the MaRS deal was done, then said he would supply the business case filed with Infrastructure Ontario but only if one exists and only if it is not commercially sensitive.

Infrastructure Ontario later confirmed to the Star that one does exist, but was quick to put a stop to it being released.

The decision-making behind the loan program is commercially sensitive as it contains various third-party due diligence, applicant financials, and project specific business cases that would compromise the integrity of the loan process, spokesperson Bianca Lankheit said in an email statement.

Lankheit stated the loan application for MaRS Phase 2 went through rigorous checks and balances.

Even though they (Liberals) talk a good talk about openness and transparency, we are not seeing anything about transparency, anything about openness and they are preventing the public from seeing how the minister is spending their money, Hillier (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) told the committee.

The Liberal MPPs argued the information requested either contained commercially sensitive information or claimed the research and innovation minister should provide the details even though Infrastructure Ontario lent MaRS the money.

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Liberal MPPs block release of MaRS financial details