Tories claim more documents on cancelled gas plants recovered

TORONTO – Ontario’s Conservatives say Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian has uncovered emails on two cancelled gas plants that were believed to have been deleted.

Energy critic Vic Fedeli says Cavoukian told him today that she hasn’t received the emails yet, which were apparently unearthed by government bureaucrats.

He says the emails were deleted by Craig MacLennan, the former chief of staff at the Ministry of Energy who was singled out by Cavoukian as violating the Archives and Recordkeeping Act.

Fedeli says Cavoukian told him repeatedly that she feels misled by the government, but feels there are no more documents to be found.

Cavoukian’s office hasn’t confirmed that the emails have been found, but a spokesman says she’ll issue a statement shortly.

The commissioner concluded last month in a scathing report that senior Liberals broke the law by deleting emails related to the two gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.

She also reported that top Liberals in then-Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office not only deleted their emails on the gas plants, but also tried to wipe the data completely from government computers.

The opposition parties say the emails were wiped out to try to cover up the true costs of cancelling the gas plants, which has grown to an estimated $585 million.

Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the matter.

Cavoukian’s report said David Livingston, McGuinty’s chief of staff, tried as late as January to find out how to permanently delete emails related to the gas plants.

McGuinty told a legislative committee that Liberal staff did their best to follow confusing, contradictory and murky guidelines on document retention, and the rules need to be clarified.