As reported in CBC News, former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty testified in legislative committee hearings over his mid-election campaign decision to cancel a power plant project:
The decision to close the power-generating plants become controversial for two reasons. The first was the timing: the Mississauga plant announcement came during the 2011 election campaign; the Oakville decision came a year earlier. Both decisions were made in response to growing opposition in ridings held by Liberal MPPs.
The combined cost of tearing up contracts with the developers was another problem. The cost of moving both plants is now estimated to be more than $585 million, far above the $230 million McGuinty and the Liberals had been claiming.
During his testimony on Tuesday, McGuinty’s clashed with Progressive Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli, especially when McGuinty insisted the $40-million figure the Liberals had been using as the cost of cancelling the Oakville plant came from the Ontario Power Authority. It was recently estimated that moving the plant will likely cost more than $300 million. An auditor’s report on the Oakville relocation is due this summer.
The controversy arising out of this decision ultimately led to the former premier’s resignation and continues to cast a shadow over the minority government he once led.
