The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.
Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian appeared before a legislative committee probing the government’s decision to cancel power plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
Former premier Dalton McGuinty is unrepentant about the controversial decision to cancel two gas plants, lashing out at his critics for being hyper-partisan and interested only in the demise of the Liberal party.
McGuinty, who appeared Tuesday before a legislative committee probing the cancellations, said he regretted “that it ended up costing as much as it does, but ultimately it is the right decision.”
Despite his sometimes combative defence of his political legacy, McGuinty admitted “we failed as a government” on document retention training. He was referring to Information and Privacy Commission Ann Cavoukian’s finding that top Liberal political staffers destroyed emails and documents contrary to the Archives and Recordkeeping Act.
“I’m calling it the way I see it . . . there is no genuine effort here on the part of the opposition committee members to seek out the truth,” he later told reporters, emphasizing that he’s “not sure Ontarians understand the real complexion” of a committee dominated by the opposition and focused on embarrassing the Liberals.
McGuinty resigned as MPP earlier this month.
Asked if he wanted to finally say he was sorry to Ontarians for the $585-million debacle, McGuinty said: “I think I’ve said many, many times over that I regret that we made the decision to locate those plants in those sites. I regret that we did not listen to the opposition when they first raised objections. I regret that it ended up costing as much as it does, but ultimately it is the right decision.”
“You really have no intention of apologizing for this?” a reporter asked.
“Next question,” shot back McGuinty.
The former premier said he will let the history books deal with his political legacy but then listed off all the things he says he is proud of.
“I’m just really proud of the fact we’ve got smaller classes in Ontario, I am proud of the fact that our students are performing so much better . . . I am proud of the fact we have 200 family health teams. We used to have none and they are now seeing over 3 million patients in Ontario.
For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2013/06/25/watchdog_slams_mcguintys_office_over_deleted_emails.html