Cornwall Ontario — This week saw the revelation by the Auditor-General that the decision to cancel the Mississauga and Oakville power plants resulted in the Ontario Power Authority being placed in a very weak negotiating position with contractors Greenfield South and Eastern Power, which they used to their advantage.

MPP Jim McDonell commented: “The McGuinty-Wynne Liberals are so focused on maintaining their power that they are willing to put their political interests ahead of the interests of taxpayers. Instructing the OPA, whose negotiating position they weakened by rushing the cancellation announcement, to stop construction at any cost in Mississauga in order to save their own seats is an unacceptable misuse of taxpayer’s money. And now that she has been caught red-handed, Premier Wynne and the Liberals are doing everything to avoid accountability. Their behavior is indicative of systemic dishonesty.”

During the last session of the Legislature, the Government withheld documents demanded of it by a Committee investigating the cancellations. The matter was referred to the Speaker, who ruled the Minister of Energy could be held in contempt of Parliament. Former Premier Dalton McGuinty then prorogued the Legislature and shut down all investigations until after the Liberal leadership convention.

MPP McDonell stated: “This is a matter of public money being deliberately wasted for partisan political gain. I find it scandalous that the Legislature is being deliberately obstructed by this government in its attempts to get the truth. The Premier is protecting her own party while taxpayers watch their money being wasted – it is unacceptable.”