PC leader has faith in Elections Ontario

The leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservatives says he has faith in Elections Ontario and the Ministry of the Attorney General to properly deal with a report on an investigation into an incident that has rocked Sudbury's byelection campaign.

NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson has called for an independent prosecutor to handle the results of a probe into allegations by former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier, who says prominent Liberals offered him jobs or an appointment in exchange for withdrawing from the race and backing Glenn Thibeault.

Bisson says the province can't be trusted to fairly deal with the results of the investigation and will “cleanse” any report before its made public. The Liberals have said a non-partisan process is in place, and that the NDP are just playing politics.

In Sudbury Thursday campaigning with candidate Paula Peroni, Wilson said the scandal has shown how desperate both parties are to try and win the Feb. 5 vote.

“I can appreciate that Gilles Bisson and the NDP are continuing to stir the pot on this,” he said. “But Elections Ontario, I mean, they're pretty credible, and to be fair, the attorney general has made it clear she won't be the one handling the file.

“There are good bureaucrats at the top of that ministry, and I think you have to give them a chance. Elections Ontario will make their findings public, so if there was any hanky panky on the part of the Liberals, it will be quite evident.”

He also blasted the Liberal government for its behaviour in the case, saying it confirms in the minds of many people their worst suspicions about politicians. It's not fair to smear everyone with the same brush, Wilson said.

“It's a very serious issue – in my 24 years in politics, I've never heard anything like it,” he said. “It makes the whole business look like it can be bought, and is based on backroom deals.

“But it just shows how desperate the other two parties are. And it's a shame because it brings down the credibility of all politicians, all good people like Paula here that are trying to serve and represent their communities.”

Rather than to try and score political points, he said the NDP should give the system in place a chance to work and restore a measure of confidence in Ontario's political system.

“I have faith in Elections Ontario,” Wilson said. “They'll do their job and come to a fair conclusion – which is these people are rigging the system and playing unfairly. And they've been doing it for a lot of years, and they finally got caught.”