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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 23, 2014 | 4 Candidates favour accountability, not wasted money continued from p.1 ernment of any party that this type of behavior is just not tolerated in Ontario. Because if politicians get away with it, then it's going to happen again," stated Hudak. The inquiry would be conducted by a judge, who has prosecutorial and investigative experience, which the PCs said elevates the level of independence to investigate. Liberal candidate Kevin Flynn Oakville Liberal candidate Kevin Flynn said a judicial inquiry would be redundant, noting a justice committee, which is made up of members from all three parties, has already looked into the matter thoroughly. He said the committee has logged some 140 hours and heard from more than 90 witnesses, including Wynne. "This issue has been looked at every which way possible, I think. The Premier has been very open and transparent about it," said Flynn. "To spend excessively, that may be the way the Tories think we should be dealing with this, but I think the work being done by the committee has provided the information the committee needs to make a decision and render some advice to the government." PC candidate Larry Scott Oakville PC candidate Larry Scott disagreed, suggesting the judicial inquiry is a great idea and the big difference between this and what has been done so far is those called to testify would be required by law to answer questions. He also said Ontarians deserve a full explanation as to why so much money was spent on gas plants, which were never built. "There was a lot going on here. The police are involved, there were cover-ups of emails, deletions," said Scott. "Where there is smoke, there is fire and there is just so much smoke here, there has got to be a lot of fire." In addition to the wasted money, Scott believes McGuinty shut down parliament in the face of the gas plant scandal so he could resign and the Liberals could pick a new leader. He said spending "a little bit more money" to hold a judicial inquiry is essential to holding politicians accountable so this type of behaviour is not repeated. Other Oakville candidates were more divided about the idea of an inquiry. Green candidate Andrew Chlobowski Oakville Green Party candidate Andrew Chlobowski said in some ways an inquiry would be a good idea, saying one of his party's goals is to bring integrity and good public policy to Queen's Park. "Knowing what was behind this strange deal with the gas plants is quite interesting and would be very enlightening for the public," he said. That said, Chlobowski said if there is an inquiry, it needs to be cheap. He said it would not be worth holding if it was drawn out, expensive and only served as a propaganda piece for the PCs, creating no real change. NDP candidate Che Marville Oakville NDP candidate Che Marville said a judicial inquiry is premature at this stage. She said an NDP government would establish an accountability officer who would gather evidence concerning the gas plant cancellations and release findings on what happened. This way, the government could determine whether a judicial inquiry is actually necessary. "We brought the budget down because we couldn't trust the Liberal government," said Marville. "It's not just the gas plants. It's ORNGE and other things that have gone on over the last 10 years. This whole idea of entitlement. (However) Mr. Hudak's position is coming from a place that is about dividing rather than coming together and we've got to find a way to come together and be accountable." Libertarian candidate David Clement Oakville Libertarian candidate David Clement said, on its surface, a public inquiry appears to be a good idea, believing secrecy in government never leads to anything positive. He said it would provide residents with important information concerning how the decision to cancel the power plants was made. Clement argued it would do nothing to combat the root cause of the scandal, which he said is government being the sole decision maker in the energy market. "An inquiry might expose bad decision making in government, but it is not going to change who is making those decisions going forward," he said. "A Libertarian government is looking to return some of those decisions to consumers and take them out of the hands of politicians who are susceptible to these billion-dollar mishaps." This Sunday, May 25 we welcome the Oakville Children's Choir Chamber Choir (conducted by Sarah Morrison and Charlene Pauls, with pianist Cheryl Duvall) to our 10 AM service. European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship The repertoire will range from settings of the "Gloria" and "Sanctus," to an Irish fiddle tune called "Dobbin's Flowery Vale" set for voices, to Mozart's "Alleluia." Please come out and enjoy this special musical offering. "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" 905.849.0266 1240 Old Abbey Lane 905-825-2851 www.incarnationchurch.ca CONCRETE · DRIVEWAYS · FRENCH CURBS · PATIOS · STEPS · WALKWAYS · GARAGE FLOORS VISIT OUR SATURDAY, Early Education Open House on AT HSC, STUDENT TUDENT SUCCESS IS IMPORTANT IMPOR TO ME. Learning is fun. Students tudents need e believ believe only be convinced. We eativity the wonderment and creativity contained in the minds of children are the most untapped apped resources in our world orld today today. - Adam Carswell, Carsw Junior School hool Principal Hillfield Strathallan College is an independent day school for Montessori Toddler and Pre-Kindergarten students to Grade 12. Visit us at www.hsc.on.ca. May 24 Now accepting applications for September 2014. uality At Its Best! Call Fernando Call Scott Barton 905-389-1367 EXPOSED AGGREGATE (Pebble) 905-844-5518 · 1-888-944-5518 www.concretetrimmings.com FREE ESTIMATES