Hazel gives MPPS an earful

Mississauga mayor rips Liberals for delay, and opposition for ‘political games’ over cancellations

In her trademark plain-spoken style, Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion took Liberal and opposition MPPs to the woodshed Thursday at a hearing into the scandal over cancelled power plants.

First she gave the governing Liberals an earful for waiting too long to cancel a plant that was under construction across from Sherway Gardens mall, near a hospital and a creek.

Then she accused Progressive Conservative and New Democrat MPPs of playing “political games” over the politically motivated decisions to scrap the plants in Mississauga and Oakville at a cost of at least $230 million to taxpayers.

“It should have been cancelled before a (building) permit was is- sued,” a feisty McCallion told the legislature’s justice committee, speaking of the plant in her city. By ignoring community opposition for years and waiting until days before the provincial election of Oct. 6, 2011, to scrap the plant, which was well under construction, former premier Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals were their own worst enemies in ramping up the cancellation costs of at least $190 million, McCallion suggested. “It’s most unfortunate it was allowed to proceed,” she testified. “My citizens are not interested in wasting taxpayers’ money.” The veteran mayor then challenged the opposition parties for their detailed pursuit of the behindthe-scenes story of the plant cancellations, given that McGuinty and former energy minister Chris Bent- ley have resigned. As well, Premier Kathleen Wynne has admitted the decision to scrap the plants was “politically motivated” to save seats, given that both plants were set to be placed in Liberal ridings. “I don’t know why you’re wasting a lot of time at Queen’s Park in what, in my opinion, is deadwood,” she chastised, as the room fell silent. With pressing issues like persistent unemployment, traffic gridlock and the need for more transit, McCallion urged MPPs to “get on with the work of the province.” “The people are fed up with the political games at Queen’s Park” with pursuit of details such as which politician or bureaucrats sent emails on the cancellations, she added. “Is that important? I don’t think it is . . . How much do you want to know to waste time at Queen’s Park?” New Democrat MPP Peter Ta- buns defended the opposition push for more information into the costs and decisions surrounding the cancelled plants, which one expert has testified could be a bigger financial burden than the government led taxpayers to believe.

“When you lose $800-plus million on a political seat-saver decision, people want to know what’s going on.”

“We look at it as a very important task we’re doing for the people of Ontario,” added Tory MPP Vic Fedeli.

Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter is investigating the cancellation costs for both plants, with opposition parties warning they will be much higher than the $230 million the minority Liberals have claimed.

The first report on the Mississauga plant is due next month, with the Oakville report — requested by Wynne after she took power last month — expected this summer.