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Five years ago, as the Ontario Provincial Police were investigating the gas plants scandal, the former top public servant in the province gave a quote that would become legendary.

“The only organizations that did not maintain records were criminal organizations,” Peter Wallace, secretary to the cabinet during Premier Dalton McGuinty’s tenure, told his police interviewer.

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Wallace was describing his conversations with McGuinty’s chief of staff, David Livingston. Wallace was horrified by claims from senior political staff that important meetings and deliberations were only being conducted verbally, leaving scant written records.

The gas plants scandal was kicked off by the curious fact that when a legislature committee sought records about the decision to cancel the contracts, political staff reported they had little to no records to submit. Police got involved, charges were laid, and Livingston was eventually sentenced to four months in jail for his role in wiping computer hard drives in the premier’s office.