Fuelling opposition charges of a cover-up, Ontario’s information watchdog has scolded key Liberal political staff for failing to save emails on the $585 million scrapping of controversial power plants before the 2011 election.

Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, who will issue a report on the deletions next month, was baffled at the loss of important information supposed to be saved under law.

“It strained credulity that no one thought they should maybe retain some of the emails,” Cavoukian told reporters Tuesday as she issued her annual report.

“I was not pleased, to put it mildly.”

She said her office has “left no stone unturned” in its investigation of missing emails following an NDP complaint there are few, if any, emails from cabinet ministers’ offices and the premier’s office on the power plant closures in Mississauga and Oakville.

“Nothing says cover-up like destruction,” said New Democrat MPP Peter Tabuns, who sits on a legislative committee investigating the closures. “At least three senior staff have been in the position where they have no records.”

Craig MacLennan, once chief of staff to energy ministers Brad Duguid and Chris Bentley, has testified he did not save all emails because “I don’t know how to archive everything.”

With Ontario’s auditor general and the Ontario Power Authority estimating the plant closure costs at $585 million, the NDP and Progressive Conservatives maintain the money was squandered to save Liberal seats in the 2011 vote that reduced former premier Dalton McGuinty’s administration to a minority.

Cavoukian said her report into missing emails will go “into as much detail as we can possibly muster.”

Government House leader John Milloy wouldn’t comment on specifics but confirmed “documents of a significant nature are to be retained” and staff have been given training on that.

Cavoukian’s comments came as Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli told the committee the cost of closing the plants was “higher than we thought it would be.”

Last week, the Conservatives spotlighted government documents showing the Liberals were bracing for $900 million to close the plants while telling Ontarians the tab was $230 million.

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