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To the horror of Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberals, the gas plants scandal is once again in play as they head into an election the premier must call no later than June 7.

That’s the political impact of Judge Timothy Lipson’s decision Friday convicting David Livingston, former premier Dalton McGuinty’s chief of staff, on two criminal charges related to the destruction of emails and other documents in connection with the $1.1 billion scandal.

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The convictions alone are extremely serious, as indicated by the description of them put out by the federal prosecution service in the wake of Lipson’s ruling.

(Federal prosecutors conducted the case instead of provincial Crowns to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.)

To wit: “David Livingston was found guilty today in the Ontario Court of Justice of attempting to commit mischief in relation to data, by attempting to delete data from the computers of the Office of the Premier of Ontario, thereby committing an indictable offence contrary to section 430(5)(a) of the Criminal Code. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.