Mantha’s Notes from the Park
NDP MPP Michael Mantha, Algoma-Manitoulin
As many of you know, the Provincial Legislature returned this week for the first time in four months. The new session, as always, began with a speech from the throne. In that speech, Premier Kathleen Wynne made a commitment to the people of Ontario that trust, transparency, change, and cooperation would be at the forefront of her administration.
As a caucus, New Democrats committed to supporting the throne speech, believing that we had a new opportunity to get real results for Ontarians.
Two days later, a disturbing announcement was made by the new Minister of Energy, Bob Chiarelli. He revealed that more documents related to the gas plant cancellations existed. This revelation flew in the face of ongoing reassurances by the government that all documents had been released.
During the 2011 general election, the Liberal Party of Ontario decided to cancel two gas-fired power stations, one in Oakville and one in Mississauga, in a bid to save two Liberal seats. During the fall of 2012, the legislature forced the government to turn over documents relating to the cancellation so the political motivation the decision and the cost to Ontario taxpayers could be revealed.
Initially the McGuinty government released some 36,000 documents, claiming they had presented all relevant materials. Weeks later, the government turned over another 20,000 more, which they claimed had accidentally been missed in earlier searches. Now months later we have been informed that even more documents exist.
This political decision will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. First accounts estimated approximately $230 million. With the release of these new documents, it’s clear the total price tag will not be known until the Auditor General finishes examining the cancellations.
It is difficult for people to have trust in their government when they appear to be concealing information from the public. Documents that were provided in the releases were either missing pages or much of the content was blacked out.
We have been shut out of the legislature for the past four months, preventing us from getting down to work and making important decisions for everyday Ontarians. This gas plant scandal is causing further interruption in the legislature.
My NDP colleagues and I believe Ontarians deserve better. They deserve answers, not more cover-ups.
New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath says an independent public inquiry is the best way to ensure that all facts around the scandal are made public. According to Andrea, “when people don’t believe their government can provide straight answers or honest information we have a serious problem – and that’s bad for democracy”.
As always, please feel free to contact my office about this issue, or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710/1-800-831-1899.
MPP Michael Mantha
Algoma-Manitoulin
