The Ontario Power Authority has fired an employee accused of profiting from the decision to scrap the controversial Oakville gas plant.

The Star first reported in October that the OPA was conducting an internal investigation into allegations an unidentified employee profited as a result of negotiations between the agency and TransCanada over the cancellation of the Oakville gas plant.

“The investigation is now complete. The OPA has terminated the employee with cause,” the OPA said in a news release.

“The employee was terminated because the employee held shares in companies that do business with the OPA which violated the agency’s employee code of conduct,” said OPA spokeswoman Kristin Jenkins, adding it is up to the Ontario Securities Commission to look at the holdings and related transactions.

Among other things, it was initially alleged the employee held and or purchased stocks in TransCanada during negotiations between the agency and the company with respect to the cancellation of the Oakville gas plant and subsequently profited from the stock transactions.

The OPA stated that in making its decision it took into account a fact-finding report prepared by Theresa Hartley, a lawyer at McCague Borlack, as well as input from the former judge Stephen T. Goudge, who served on the Ontario Court of Appeal from 1996 to 2014.

“The OPA took the allegations seriously, launched a thorough investigation of them and has taken steps to address them,” OPA CEO Colin Andersen stated.

The controversial TransCanada Oakville plant, which never broke ground, was cancelled by the Liberal government of then premier Dalton McGuinty on Oct. 6, 2010. On Oct. 2, 2012 it was announced that a settlement had been reached between the Ontario government and TransCanada.

It was also alleged the same employee, who was not a member of the executive, had shares in other companies that did business with the OPA, all of which is contrary to the OPA’s code of conduct.

The OPA said it found during the investigation that the employee:

understood the requirements of the code of conduct;

read and signed the code annually;

held shares in companies prohibited under the code;

did not report these holdings to the employee’s supervisor as required under the code;

carried out OPA business, although not in a decision-making capacity, with companies whose shares were held in contravention of the code;

did not intentionally purchase or hold the shares but failed to exercise an appropriate level of due diligence to ensure compliance with the code.

Jenkins told the Star earlier it was the employee who first warned the agency about the allegations, which were subsequently spelled out by a complainant in a letter to the OPA legal division. She added that Andersen was made aware of the letter.

The OPA added that it has been in contact with the provincial ombudsman and the Ontario Securities Commission about the allegations and the OPA’s investigation, and that it will continue to co-operate fully with both as required.

As of the January 1, the OPA will be merging with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

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The OPA news release noted that Goudge, the former judge, advised that more time is required to provide a proper review of the employee code of conduct and recommended that he carry out this work in the new year once the merger has taken place.

“The IESO will begin work with Justice Goudge as soon as possible in January to develop and adopt an effective code of conduct,” said Bruce Campbell, the IESO’s CEO.

Until a new code is finalized, employees will be bound by the existing OPA and IESO codes of conduct, the OPA stated.

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