Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne appears before the legislature's justice committee at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Tuesday April 30, 2012.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Ontario Progressive Conservatives want Premier Kathleen Wynne to testify a second time before a legislative committee investigating the costly cancellation of gas plants, arguing the Premier's previous testimony was inconsistent.
The Tories are also seeking to recall former premier Dalton McGuinty and former energy ministers Brad Duguid and Chris Bentley, along with several political staffers.
For months, the Liberals insisted it cost $190-million to cancel the plants, in the Toronto suburbs of Oakville and Mississauga. The actual price tag, however, has turned out to be far higher, and is now projected to sit at $585-million.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, numerous Liberals told committee that they relied on the Ontario Power Authority for the earlier, lower figures. But OPA officials said they told the government all along the costs would be higher.
The PCs want the politicians and their aides to return to committee to explain these apparent differences, they say.
"The Liberals are evading questions and spinning tales – further evidence of a government in chaos," Tory MPP Rob Leone said in a statement. "It's time for them to get their facts straight and actually be accountable to Ontarians for a change."
Mr. McGuinty ordered the plants cancelled in what was widely seen as a political play to soothe local anger over them and retain area seats in the 2011 election.
Adrian Morrow