“Whatever the total, this is further evidence of massive, deliberate mismanagement of energy by the McGuinty government, which has made a habit of politically exploiting home hydro needs, just as they do with health care and education.”
- Editorial, Windsor Star, September 26, 2012

QUEEN’S PARK – The Ontario PCs have sent the Liberals a list of high-ranking party officials – including Premier Dalton McGuinty – whom they intend to call as key witnesses during the investigation into the Liberals’ scandalous $650-million gas plant fiasco, Ontario PC House Leader Jim Wilson said today.

“The Liberals are getting plenty of notice of which high-ranking party officials the Ontario PCs want to question so they can start clearing their schedules,” Wilson said. “It’s time the Liberals stopped hiding the truth about their ongoing, reckless waste of taxpayers’ money, which has driven this province’s economy into the ground, and started the investigation immediately.”

Addressing Government House Leader John Milloy, a letter sent this morning from Wilson includes a list of 16 people the Ontario PCs wish to interview. Among others, they include: McGuinty, Energy Minister Chris Bentley, former Energy Minister Brad Duguid, former Energy Minister and campaign strategist George Smitherman, and former Chief of Staff Don Guy.

The letter also calls on the McGuinty Liberals to finally release all documents on the cancelled Mississauga and Oakville gas plants, and to not wait any longer to re-strike the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs, which will conduct the investigation.

“Last Spring, the Premier refused to testify before the Public Accounts Committee about his government’s shameful mismanagement of Ornge,” Wilson continued. “We expect to him to appear before the Finance Committee and come clean about his involvement – and any other political interference – with the gas plant cancellations and subsequent refusal to release documents.”

The question is simple: who made the decision to cancel these plants – forcing taxpayers to hand over at least $650 million of their hard-earned money – and then decided to hide documents? Wilson charged that the package of documents Energy Minister Bentley provided is incomplete, with documents either missing completely or with sections blanked out.

“The Liberals have many questions to answer, but what is clear is this: the Premier and his government cannot be trusted to manage the public purse or highly important files like energy, the economy and job creation on behalf of Ontarians.”