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Tom Adams has been doing a yeoman's job trying to shed some light on the recently-released Gas Plant disclosure documents. You can read all about it at his website Tom Adams Energy and specifically the section labelled Gas Busters. Many in the media are picking up on his fine work including Terence Corcoran. Adams has been hitting the talk-radio circuit too. I had a chance to listen to Gary Doyle interview him yesterday on 570 News. Please take the time to check it out online. Whereas his website can be a bit heavy to wade through, Adam's passion shines through in the interview. At one point Adams talks about the bureaucrats trying to understand the deal and how they expressed concern about the impact on ratepayers (around the 4 minute mark). They get "overruled by the Premier's Office" says Adams. After the interview Gary Doyle invited listeners to call in. I was so outraged I tweeted Tom Adams, When do we call in the police? His response was:
First steps: Recall the Legislature, put the Auditor General to work, and give the bureaucrats freedom to tell the whole truth.I sent this info to Gary (who seemed as if he was in denial about the whole thing) and he read it on air. So the question now is: How do we convince Dalton McGuinty to reopen the legislature? Public pressure would help. I bet that Liberal MPPs would start getting concerned if they were overwhelmed by emails and phone calls from their constituents threatening to vote them out in the next election. Let's help Tom Adams get to the bottom of this scandal! It's your money and your Legislature. Let the sunshine in!!
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Update
Of course McGuinty disagrees with all of this: McGuinty rejects report estimating $1.3B price tag for scrapping gas plants - Windsor Star
Dodging a $1.2-billion bullet - Terence Corcoran.
Ontario’s Power Trip: Dalton McGuinty, power puppeteer - Parker Gallant:
The 56,000 pages of documents associated with the Ontario government’s decision to kill two gas plants originally planned for Mississauga and Oakville show clearly the top-down role of politicians, both in the decisions made and in the attempts to hide the costs. They show, in numerous instances, how Premier Dalton McGuinty was in absolute control through his cabinet ministers to the officials he had appointed to the agencies involved. As I read the documents so far, including board briefings and emails among the many players, it’s the Liberal strategists attached to the Premier’s Office and Ministry offices who are invested in hiding the mess the gas plants created. As energy consultant Tom Adams suggests in his review of the documents, the evidence suggests the total cost of plant cancellations is likely greater than $1.3-billion, the burden to be borne by electricity consumers. The documents show that McGuinty strategists managed the gas files to benefit the Liberal party rather than taxpayers and ratepayers. Once the plants were cancelled, in October 2010 and September 2011, the top-down political influence is very noticeable. Post-cancellation negotiations to cover the costs of breaking contracts fell to Liberal party officials who tried to cover up the mess, not to energy experts...Please read the whole thing - if your blood pressure will take it. McGuinty should reverse prorogation action - Globe (!) Ontario Liberals were stumped over how to kill power plant - Karen Howlett and Paul Waldie (Globe):
...The documents shed light on why it took nine weeks to stop construction on the Mississauga power plant and why the tab kept growing for taxpayers during the 10 months it took to settle the matter. Project Vapour Lock, as it was known inside government, consumed the attention of Mr. McGuinty himself, as well as officials in cabinet office and in the ministries of the Attorney General and Energy. This is not to be confused with Project Vapour, the code name for the cancelled Oakville plant, where construction had not yet started...
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