From The Office of the Premier of Ontario, March 30th, 2014
Premier Kathleen Wynne sent the attached open letter this morning to Mr. Tim Hudak, the Leader of the Official Opposition and Leader of the Ontario PC Party.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne
In the letter, Premier Wynne asks the PC Leader, his caucus, and his party to stop making false and defamatory accusations regarding allegations that an individual came into the former Premier’s office to delete records.
Contrary to Mr. Hudak’s false statements, this did not happen after Premier Wynne was sworn in February 11th, 2013. The allegations pertain entirely to activities in the former Premier’s Office.
Mr. Hudak made the comments during a press conference last Thursday (March 27th) at Queen’s Park. Mr. Hudak stated that Premier Wynne “oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents.”
Later on Thursday, the Ontario PC Party circulated an email that stated “she oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal deletion of the information.” A similar false statement was posted, and remains posted, on the PC Party website.
The Premier has sought and obtained legal advice, and if the comments are not immediately corrected, all necessary and appropriate steps will be taken to ensure the false statements are corrected.
From the day she was sworn in, Premier Wynne has opened up the government to an unprecedented degree in order to get all the facts out about the gas plant relocations. We have provided the Justice Committee with more than 326,000 documents and emails related to the gas plants, including 30,000 directly from the Premier’s Office.
Our government has implemented mandatory recordkeeping rules and staff training, and new rules limiting political staff involvement in commercial third-party transactions.
We have also introduced important legislation both through our Open Government Initiative and our proposed Accountability Act. If passed, the Accountability Act will prohibit the willful deletion of records, and will create a penalty.
We will continue to cooperate in any way necessary to provide all information required.
Regards, Zita Astravas, Press Secretary, Office of the Premier of Ontario
TEXT OF LETTER FROM PREMIER WYNNE TO TIM HUDAK, March 30, 2014
Re: Open letter from Premier Kathleen Wynne to Tim Hudak
Dear Mr. Hudak
During your press conference on March 27th you made several false, misleading and defamatory allegations about me. You alleged that I personally “oversaw and possibly ordered the criminal destruction of documents” and that criminal conduct took place in my office. The Ontario Progressive Conservative Party repeated these false allegations on its website and in a public mailing.
These allegations and accusations are false and utterly unsupported, and you ought to know it.
As political leaders it is our role and public duty to engage in spirited political debate on issues. The decision to relocate the gas plants and the facts related to the ongoing police investigation are legitimate subjects for this political debate. False, misleading and defamatory statements are not, and they represent the worst kind of politics. That is why I am writing this open letter to you.
There should be no tolerance for false and defamatory accusations as a means to gain political power.
I am asking you and your caucus to immediately stop repeating these untrue statements and to immediately remove them from the PC Party website and all other communications.
I have sought and obtained legal advice regarding your comments, and if steps are not taken immediately, I will have no choice but to take all necessary and appropriate steps to ensure your false statements are corrected.
Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario
(NOW IT IS YOUR TURN. Niagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 
Wynne was asked twice last week in Parliament if she had any knowledge of the deletions or if her computer hard drive was one of the 24 wiped clean. Both times she refused to answer. That says it all.
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Whatever happened in the former Ontario Premier’s office and whatever decisions “his” government made, Wynne was a member of the Cabinet of the day and must own at least some of the responsibility for what the government of the day did. Sadly, taking responsibility and ownership, indeed ethical behavior in general, is on the wane in Canadian politics at all levels. As one of U. S. President Bill Clinton’s campaign team once declared when questions arose around Clinton’s conduct, “Morality is not an issue in this election!” Will candidates’ morals be at issue in the next municipal, provincial, or federal elections in Canada? Or, are we still a nation that is swayed by image and not character?
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The continuing character assassination by a pack of savage dogs when nothing has been proven in a court of law is criminal intent and the perpetrators most certainly should be sued and brought to trial. The Conservatives have openly adopted this “SMEARING” tactics copied from the U.S. Tea Party and when their Attack Dogs go too far they like any other dogs should be put onto a leash. This leash might have to be a court order issued by a court after a successful lawsuit has found they have infringed on the rights of another individual. I am certainly not a Liberal but it is truly sicking to listen to the attack dogs as they snarl and rant during question period. Why has decorum been lost in Queen’s Park and attack dog tactics replaced MPPs being honest and truthful ladies and gentlemen????
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I hope she sues Hudak. Too often do politician lie or stretch the truth.
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