Former McGuinty chief of staff David Livingston found guilty of deleting documents in wake of power plants´ cancellation
(The Star Environment)

A former chief of staff to ex-premier Dalton McGuinty has been found guilty of deleting documents in a “dishonest� scramble to protect the Liberal government from the fallout of scrapping two power plants at public expense before an election almost seven years ago.“No issues were more challenging ‎or dangerous to the minority Liberal government,� Justice Timothy Lipson said in a lengthy ruling Friday against David Livingston.“This was the grim political backdrop.�While Livingston was convicted of attempted mischief in relation to data and unauthorized use of a computer system, his deputy chief Laura Miller was found not guilty on identical charges.Lipson added that the fact that a non-government employee was brought in and paid by the Liberal party to wipe hard drives in the McGuinty premier’s office in the winter of 2013 before Kathleen Wynne took over as premier is “compelling circumstantial evidence� Livingston intended to wipe records that should have been retained for freedom-of-information requests and a legal production order from a legislative committee.The defence argument that hard drives were wiped to remove personal information is “simply implausible,� the judge continued.“Mr. Livingston resorted to extreme and unauthorized measures� in a “scorched-earth strategy.�Livingston’s wife put her arm around him as they left the courtroom for a brief recess.The case had its roots in the political furore over the McGuinty government’s decision to scrap natural gas-fired power plants in Oakville and Mississauga before the 2011 election.McGuinty announced his resignation the following year as the gas plants controversy reached a fever pitch, with opposition-dominated legislative committees demanding secret documents on the closures be made public.Progressive Conservative and New Democrat MPPs accused the government of axing the gas plants, which faced loc ...