New Democrats recalling Premier Wynne to testify at gas plants committee
Posted October 17, 2013 12:28 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The New Democrats are recalling Premier Kathleen Wynne to testify at the gas plants committee, citing new numbers and new information from the Auditor General’s report into the cancellation of the Oakville plant.
NDP house leader Gilles Bisson said, Thursday, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s report raises some serious questions which have to be put to Premier Wynne.
“These guys wrestle themselves to the ceiling, and found the most expensive way of all to be able to settle this gas plant stuff, so we need to call these witnesses back in order to have a discussion about what really has happened, and why did the government make the most expensive decision,” he said.
Bisson said the fact that the Liberal government could have pulled out of the Oakville deal without penalty raises suspicions.
“Was it a question that these guys decided for whatever reason with [private power company TransCanada Energy] that they had to find a settlement, because they were scratching each other’s backs?” he asked.
“Was it because they were incompetent? Was it because they really didn’t know what they were doing?”
The next step will be for Premier Wynne to agree to appear before the Justice committee.
The New Democrats also want to hear from Colin Anderson, the boss of the Ontario Power Generation, as well as former finance minister Dwight Duncan.
Duncan – who is not a fan of the committee – called it a “kangaroo court” back in June.
The auditor general’s report into the Oakville plant found the province could have pulled the plug without penalty, but instead, rushed to settle with the builder, putting the total cost of scrapping both the Oakville and Mississauga plants at $1-billion.