TORONTO, ON:  The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) applauded the Wynne government for the introduction of the Public Sector and MPP Accountability and Transparency Act, 2014. This legislation would, among other things, force all cabinet ministers, MPPs and political staff to post their expenses online.

“This government has not exactly been the poster child of transparency and honesty in recent years,” said Candice Malcolm, Ontario Director of the CTF. “But this new bill is certainly a step in the right direction.”

The CTF noted that while expenses will be posted, there was no commitment to post the accompanying documentation, like invoices and receipts, as is done in the City of Toronto and in Alberta.

“The devil is in the details,” continued Malcolm. “While posting expenses online is a good start, only the Integrity Commissioner and not the public will get to see the full documentation and explanation of those expenses. Ontario is falling short of the gold standard set by the City of Toronto and the province of Alberta by not including receipts.”

The bill would also expand the role of the Ontario Ombudsman to include local governments and school boards, reduce some salaries for high-earning government employees, and expand the role of Ontario’s Integrity Commissioner to include Ontario’s 197 agencies and four hydro organizations.

“New transparency laws will not be a silver bullet to re-establish trust and good government in Ontario, and it certainly will not make people forget about scandals like the cancelled gas plants,” said Malcolm. “But this legislation will help establish more transparency in both the public service and among elected officials in Ontario.”

The CTF also noted that fines for “wilful destruction of records” related to FOI requests will now carry a small $5,000 maximum fine, compared with new fines of up to $100,000 for lobbying violations.

In 2012, senior McGuinty staff deleted all emails related to the gas plant closures. This was discovered last year when the NDP filed FOI requests for correspondence related to the closed plants.

“Shred documents related to a billion dollar scandal and you can now get a $5,000 fine,” said Malcolm. “That’s pocket change for six-figure political staff when it comes to covering up a boondoggle.”