The Liberals’ budget is set to pass Tuesday despite Progressive Conservative attempts to shame the New Democrats into defeating it over the gas-plant email controversy.

Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli charged that the NDP is being hypocritical by backing the minority government’s spending plan instead of triggering a July election over the $585-million power-plant debacle.

“(NDP Leader) Andrea Horwath calls them liars and corrupt in the morning and supports their budget in the afternoon,” Fedeli (Nipissing) said Monday.

“I don’t understand that motivation,” he said, noting Ontario Provincial Police are now looking into the Liberals’ deletion of emails related to the plants in Mississauga and Oakville that were cancelled for political reasons.

“If they’re corrupt as we all agree they are then we have to call them on the carpet for that.”

Horwath countered that “the Tories are only looking after their own interests,” while the New Democrats are concerned about the greater good.

She said that’s why her party ensured the Liberal budget reduced auto-insurance premiums by 15 per cent, improved home-care health services, boosted youth jobs, and contained new accountability measures.

“The caucus is pretty proud of the work we’ve been able to do,” she said, adding it was the NDP that sparked Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian’s report last week decrying the deleted emails.

Horwath pointed out the New Democrats also forced the Liberals to create an independent financial accountability office to oversee government spending and increasing transparency.

“It’s a layer of scrutiny and accountability that will be there not just with this government but with every government going forward,” she said, calling the budget watchdog “a huge gain for Ontarians.”

Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the passing of the budget Tuesday afternoon would send a positive signal to credit-rating agencies.

“They want stability, they want to make sure that we’re on our plan,” said Sousa, stressing “it’s critical” to enact the spending plan, which will likely be the final order of business before the legislature rises until September.

“We have a number of items in the budget that are time sensitive.”

If the NDP had not backed the minority Liberals’ fiscal blueprint, Ontario would have been plunged into a summer election.

Tory MPP Rob Leone (Cambridge) said such a vote is needed to clear the air at Queen’s Park and “let the people of Ontario finally have their say on whether this scandal-plagued government should continue.”

Officials in former premier Dalton McGuinty’s administration were criticized by Cavoukian last week for illegally destroying emails pertinent to the power plants.

That led to the Tories contacting the OPP on Friday and McGuinty, who remains Ottawa South MPP, issuing a statement insisting he knew nothing about the destruction of any records.

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Wynne reminded the house Monday that things have changed since she succeeded him in February.

“We have taken steps to make sure that political staff are aware of their responsibilities,” the rookie premier said.

“There has been mandatory training put in place, as I’ve said. We have changed the protocols around the retention of information.”

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