July 25th, 2017

NDP statement on Wynne’s Sudbury byelection trial testimony

NDP House Leader Gilles Bisson released the following statement regarding Premier Kathleen Wynne’s upcoming trial testimony, stemming from the 2015 Sudbury byelection: 

“I don’t blame Ontarians for being frustrated that the Wynne government’s time and energy is being spent defending its actions in court.

In the coming weeks, Ontarians will have to sit through the news from two trials related to how Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals do business. Wynne’s former top advisors Patricia Sorbara and Gerry Lougheed will be tried for allegedly violating the Elections Act related to bribery accusations in Glenn Thibeault’s Sudbury byelection, shortly before the Liberal government’s former chief of staff and deputy chief of staff will face a separate criminal trial for their alleged role in the $1.1-billion gas-plant scandal and its cover up. 

Meanwhile, Ontario families are at a tipping point. The cost of living is up. Wages are flat. Services we all count on, like health care, have been squeezed through round after round of cuts by Wynne’s Liberals. People need a government that’s focused on what matter to us – our hydro bills, hospitals and seniors care homes and our children’s classrooms. Instead, the Liberal government is mired in scandal and self-defense, focused on its party and its friends.

It’s unprecedented for a sitting premier to be called to testify in a trial – I can see why Ontarians feel she has betrayed their trust. 

We share Ontarians’ frustrations.”