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The Speaker of Ontario's legislature has shrugged off opposition charges former premier Dalton McGuinty's office tried to "bully" him into changing a gas plant scandal ruling that rattled the governing Liberals.
Dave Levac responded Tuesday to concerns that top McGuinty operatives improperly attempted to force a reversal of his bombshell finding in September 2012.
It concluded that then-energy minister Chris Bentley breached parliamentary privilege by withholding documents on the cost of scrapping power plants in Oakville and Mississauga before the 2011 election to save Liberal seats.
"I have never felt unable to make an informed, objective and procedurally sound decision, free of political interference," Levac said in a statement.
"The fact that the ruling did stand should also speak for itself."
Levac's decision put Bentley and the Liberals on the precipice of a rare contempt of parliament charge that McGuinty strategists feared would set the stage for another election with the minority government under fire for the cost of closing the plants — a tab that has now hit $585 million.
Concerned that the Liberal attempts to influence Levac set a dangerous precedent, the Progressive Conservatives called on Ontario Integrity Commissioner Lynn Morrison to investigate Tuesday.
Tory energy critic Fedeli dubbed the Liberal effort "an act of intimidation" and a good reason to vote against Premier Kathleen Wynne's party in five byelections Thursday.
The approach to Levac — who is the Liberal MPP for Brant but elected by all parties as neutral referee in the legislature — was made by former McGuinty staffer Dave Gene, after concerns were raised by former McGuinty adviser Laura Miller and Liberal campaign chairman Don Guy.
In an email exchange on Sept. 21, 2012, after the Levac ruling, Guy wrote, "Speaker needs to follow up on his prima facie finding and change his mind." Miller wrote that Gene "is putting the member from Brant on notice that we need better here."
That language raised alarm bells with the opposition parties, with NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson calling it "pretty serious stuff."
"Which incentives were offered or punishments were threatened is unclear," Fedeli said. "These actions threaten and undermine the institutions we value in our democracy.
Fedeli said he would rather have Morrison investigate than call Levac to testify before a legislative committee probing the gas plants scandal, but later told reporters that remains an option when hearings resume.
Bisson said the NDP will call Miller and Guy.
"Who ordered them to do this . . . was it the (former) premier?"
Miller told the Star no threats were made by the premier's office or the Liberal party against Levac.
"There is really no way to strong-arm the Speaker. You can't remove him. And as to threatening his nomination, that would just be silly because we need(ed) him to keep the seat."
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