Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said Wednesday he won’t rule out selling off provincial Crown corporations.

The premier was responding to questions from journalists about a Toronto newspaper's report that his government had hired investment bankers to come up with a plan for selling assets. They include Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., power companies Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation, and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which has a monopoly on liquor retailing through 604 outlets in the province.

The report says one asset that could be up for sale is the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. (Canadian Press)

"We've got a responsibility to take a look at all of our assets and to make sure we're getting the most bang for the buck, and especially now in the context of a global recession, and a significant deficit and our shared responsibility to find our way forward," McGuinty said.

"We've got a committee in place and their job is to come up with some ideas, to tell us what best serves the interests of Ontarians. What always guides us is our determination to do, to try to do, the right thing for Ontarians and that will continue to guide us as we consider the future of assets," he added.

It’s a reversal for McGuinty, who opposed the previous Conservative government’s bid to sell off electricity assets or Highway 407, but said things have now changed because of the recession.

The province is facing a deficit of $24.7 billion this year and McGuinty said he has to consider all options to deal with it.

The Opposition Conservatives were already criticizing McGuinty for a "fire-sale approach," or selling the assets at the bottom of the market. However, they said that in principle, they are not opposed to privatization.

The New Democrats said public asset sales are an "old and tired idea," and warned that taxpayers always get a bad deal.

The Globe and Mail report said the government has hired CIBC World Markets and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. That plan was due to be completed in the next couple of months.

New Brunswick announced in October an agreement to sell most of its stake in the provincial power utility, NB Power, to its Quebec-owned counterpart, Hydro-Québec, for $4.8 billion to reduce debt.

Ontario proposed selling shares in Hydro One, a power transmission company, in 2001, but that stalled in part because of a court challenge launched by unions.