The commissioner of the OPP confirmed Friday that his force is looking into the circumstances surrounding the deletion of emails in the premier’s office, concerning the cancellation of two gas plants just before the last provincial election.
The news came as the opposition parties clamoured for accountability over the destruction of the documents.
Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty should testify under oath before a legislative committee about the destruction of emails by his former chief of staff and other top Liberals, the New Democrats said Friday.
Here is the letter that confirmed that the OPP has referred the PC request for criminal investigation,
Brent Rathgeber has left the Conservative caucus and its a shame that it came to this.
Bill C-461 is its unamended form would have been a much needed piece of legislation that would have provided disclosure of public servant salaries at or above deputy minister 1 (DM1) level ($188,000+).
I spoke on this legislation before committee and I informed them that I was told that the legislation would not pass without amendment, but that amending the legislation would be a scandal for the governing caucus because it speaks to the heart of what it means to be conservative.
The Conservative government was originally elected in 2006 on a promise to bring accountability and transparency to Ottawa. This legislation was pitch perfect for the original Conservative hymn of opening up government for broader public scrutiny.
If the rationale for amending this legislation was to proactively protect from news stories and headlines of the compensation rates of scores of senior staffers, perhaps the government should realize that such government largesse is itself indefensible. In trying to protect themselves from bad headlines, other bad headlines are now being written.
The Conservatives need to get themselves sorted. This is not why they originally came to Ottawa. For Rathgeber, I was pleased to see his work on bill C-461 but was disappointed in his lack of support for bill C-377.
Last night’s gutting of bill C-461 is not why conservatives send Conservative MPs to Ottawa. Bill C-461 sought to bring transparency and accountability to the public service and now this government seems intent on shielding such accountability from the public view.
“Well thank you Speaker. I’m honoured to rise today to introduce my private member’s bill. As you correctly stated it, it is an Act to amend the Canada Labour Code, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Public Service Labour Relations Act. This bill Mr. Speaker provides necessary amendments to the certification and decertification of a bargaining agent by way of a mandatory secret ballot vote based on a majority. Mr. Speaker for far too long, the federal legislation has lagged behind that of our provincial counterparts and workers deserve the right to have a secret ballot vote to decide who represents them at the bargaining table.”
The National Citizens Coalition welcomes this legislation. It’s long overdue. Card check opens up votes to intimidation by union organizers. This legislation will protect the rights of workers to support or resist union initiatives without the risk of social alienation or physical intimidation.
