May 5, 2016
Ontario

OPP probing allegations Ontario Liberals destroyed power project documents

Adrian Morrow | The Globe and Mail | May 04, 2016 | www.theglobeandmail.com

Ontario’s Liberal government faces another criminal investigation into allegations it destroyed documents related to the cancellation of a power project.

Trillium Power Wind Corp. was planning an offshore wind farm on Lake Ontario near Kingston. But shortly before the 2011 election, in the face of rural backlash against windmills, then-premier Dalton McGuinty’s government killed the project by abruptly changing the rules around wind power.

When Trillium sued the province, the company alleges it found a lack of documentation for the project. It accused the government of destroying documents to eliminate crucial evidence in the case.

Ontario Provincial Police Detective Superintendent Dave Truax confirmed Wednesday that police are investigating the matter.

Two of Mr. McGuinty’s former staffers, David Livingston and Laura Miller, still face criminal charges in a different case of alleged document destruction. They are accused of bringing in Ms. Miller’s spouse to wipe clean the hard drives of computers in the premier’s office shortly before Mr. McGuinty stepped down in early 2013. Wiping the computers, police say, erased e-mails and other documents related to the controversial cancellations of two gas-fired power plants.

Mr. McGuinty killed the plants in the Toronto suburbs of Mississauga and Oakville before the 2011 election to placate angry residents in battleground ridings. The Auditor-General later estimated the cancellations cost as much as $1.1-billion.

Mr. Livingston and Ms. Miller face charges of breach of trust, mischief in relation to data and misuse of a computer system to commit mischief. Their case is currently before the courts.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/05/05/opp-probing-allegations-ontario-liberals-destroyed-power-project-documents/