Jones hammers Sousa over gas plants

May 15, 2013 · 0 Comments

Minister of Finance Charles Sousa came under fire last week from Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones on a perceived lack of oversight on the relocation of the gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
Specifically, she was attacking the absence of a full cost assessment for the financial ramifications of the closure.
“Governments work best when they’re being watched” Jones said, quoting the words delivered by former Auditor General Jim McCarter on his recent retirement. “Minister, you’re being watched.”
Jones then called on the Minister to explain to the citizens the rationale behind not running a cost analysis before the cabinet decision.
“You (the Liberal government) signed this contract. You ripped up this contract. You need to take responsibility for this mess,” said Jones when the question was declined and passed on to Attorney General John Gerretsen. Jones continued to say that the scandal makes the Liberal party seem willing to waste millions in taxpayer money.
According to recent estimates, Jones said the cost of moving the gas plants have risen to more than $500 million, far beyond the $40 million figure that the government put forward earlier. The plants were ordered moved by then premier Dalton McGuinty due to public pressure from the Mississauga and Oakville communities that they were originally designed to addressed the power demands of.