Above: Ontario’s NDP leader Andrea Horwath has the power to pull the plug on the scandal-plagued Liberal party. Will she?
Ontario’s gas plant scandal has gone national, sucking in a top aide to British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, and leaving many wondering whether the Ontario Liberal government is on its last legs.
The provincial NDP leader, Andrea Horwath, is the one holding the power to pull the plug on the government.
“It’s a difficult time for us here in Ontario …. Here we have a scandal with the gas plants, but even worse, of course, is the cover-up,” she said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark, suggesting Premier Kathleen Wynne isn’t telling the whole truth about her knowledge of the scandal.
In 2005, Ontario needed more electricity, and the Liberals, then under Dalton McGuinty’s leadership, decided to make it with gas-fired electric generating plants. By the time the 2011 election campaign rolled around, people living in the areas where the plants were to be built said they didn’t want them there.
McGuinty, however, wanted their votes.
So he cancelled the planned construction of the plants, saying it would cost $230 million. McGuinty got the votes, but lost his majority government. Ontario’s auditor general, meanwhile, was crunching the numbers, and would eventually come out with a report pegging the cost of the closures closer to $1.1 billion.
Soon after, McGuinty stepped down.
While fingers continued to point at Wynne, who took over from McGuinty, she has consistently denied knowing anything about the cover ups.
The Ontario Provincial Police are looking into the deletion of emails and scrubbing of hard drives that allegedly took place in an attempt to erase evidence of the cover up.
McGuinty’s former chief of staff is also being investigated for breach of trust.
Comments