Premier Kathleen Wynne’s accountability legislation was tabled on Thursday. It’s intended to get control of what some might call the provincial gravy train. That would be the persistently high and out- of-touch payouts to executives at Ontario corporations. As part of the process, according to the Canadian Press, the province intends to give the Ontario Ombudsman, Andre Marin, additional powers to investigate school boards, colleges and municipalities. Ms. Wynne spoke with conviction about transparency. It’s a fairly well-worn series of issues. The eternal misuse of money by executives and their boards at Ontario Hydro is a provincial scandal. As to the extension of the domain of the Ombudsman, taxpayers will wonder why it’s necessary. There is also talk of additional Ombuds. No one at City Hall likes that because Toronto already has one. The move to more un-elected functionaries doing ministerial work offends democracy. As to Mr. Marin, he may be a nice man but his unctuous pronouncements won’t change anything at Hydro.
