Ontario needs answers from Queen’s Park on gas plant cover-up

Revelations by Ontario's privacy watchdog that the Liberal government broke laws under former premier Dalton McGuinty by destroying documents related to the gas plant scandal are outrageous, scandalous and demand attention.

The question that Queen's Park is having trouble with at the moment is exactly what type of attention they should pay to the charges. In the wake of the damning report from the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Conservative and NDP opponents are split on what to do next.

Make no mistake, they are united in damning the Liberals. They just have different ways of swinging the hammer.

The Tories want the government shut down and for Ontario Provincial Police to investigate. The NDP, meantime, want Queen's Park to stay open so an inquiry into the $585 million boondoggle can keep digging.

How do you solve a problem like $585 million wasted on cancelled gas plants?

[ Related: Ontario’s privacy watchdog says McGuinty’s office broke the law ]

Yesterday's report concludes that top members of former premier Dalton McGuinty's staff, including his chief of staff and the chief of staff of former energy minister Chris Bentley, destroyed emails and documents related to the politically-opportune cancellation of gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville.

Those decisions came ahead of the 2011 election and launched a tidal wave of accusations, including now-underlined allegations the government tried to bury the true cost, currently pegged at $585 million.

Privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian said she can't say for certain the destruction of public documents was intended as part of a cover up, but made it exponentially clear it was "unbelievable" to think otherwise. Regardless, it broke the Archives and Recordkeeping Act.

"I have trouble accepting that this practice was simply part of a benign attempt to efficiently manage one’s email accounts," she wrote in the report.

Her report outlined a few recommendations, mostly clarifying the laws and strengthening the government's responsibility to enforce accountability. The real hammer will have to come from elsewhere.

The Canadian Press reports that Ontario Progressive Conservatives are urging an OPP investigation into the matter. PC MPP Rob Leone has also demanded a judicial inquiry.

It seems the PCs are certain that the solution must come from outside Queen's Park. They are still upset that the NDP supported the government's budget and helped avoid a snap election.

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The NDP, meantime, think it is more important for the legislature to clean up its own mess. They want to keep Queen's Park open so a committee investigation the gas plant scandal can continue digging into the affair.

NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns says he is fine with the OPP investigating, but isn't sure was purview they would have. What he really wants is to keep Queen's Park open so the inquiry can continue and legislators can keep questioning the government.

"We want to continue meeting right through the summer, questioning the government and holding them to account," Tabuns told CP24. "This government needs to be shamed into changing the law so that there are teeth, so that there are penalties. Currently there aren't any. The government needs to change its practices so we don't get a reputation of this. The public wants governments to be held accountable. They don't want records to be destroyed."

The "let us clean up our own mess" campaign isn't likely to win over the Tories – those who are poised to benefit the most from a new election. And NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has already passed up several offers to topple the Liberals, meaning she will likely continue looking for answers from inside Queen's Park.

The Liberals, meantime, maintain the whole scandal is a smear on Dalton McGuinty's legacy and that Kathleen Wynne heralded in a new age when she took the reins earlier this year.

We need answers about how deep the cover-up goes, who was in on it and when they learned about it. From inside or outside of Queen's Park, the answers have to come from somewhere.