Scrambling to put a decade of spending scandals behind her minority Liberal government, Premier Kathleen Wynne has unveiled sweeping new accountability measures.

With a spring election looming, Wynne moved to mute criticism from the Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats over expense controversies at the Pan Am Games, eHealth Ontario, and the ORNGE air ambulance service.

To that end, she and Government Services Minister John Milloy on Thursday unveiled a wide-ranging bill to bring more transparency to Queen’s Park.

“I came into this office just over a year ago saying that I was going to do government differently, that we were going to open up and be more transparent. That is what we’re doing,” Wynne told reporters.

“The politics of election or not . . . that is a separate issue from doing government in a way that is accountable to the people of Ontario.”

Under the changes, ombudsman André Marin will finally be allowed to delve into municipalities, universities and school boards — powers the watchdog has sought for years.

“At long last, Ontario is poised to rectify the accident of history that left millions of citizens with nowhere to complain about the public bodies that touched their lives most closely,” Marin said, dismissing “squawking” from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario about meddling in civic business.

Marin stressed the first stop for Toronto residents will continue to be city ombudsman Fiona Crean, as he’s not concerned with “potholes and street lights.”

Instead, he would be able “to investigate council members, mayors and the bureaucracy.”

Among the proposed changes:

A new patients’ ombudsman is to be appointed to oversee hospitals, community care access centres, and long-term care homes.

The provincial advocate for children and youth is to gain new powers, similar to those of the ombudsman, to investigate matters relating those involved in the child protection system.

The Lobbyists Registration Act would be amended “to improve reporting requirements for lobbyists, address conflicts of interest and increase fines for offences.”

Proposed changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act would require records to be more securely preserved.

Former premier Dalton McGuinty’s office is being investigated for alleged destruction of emails related to the cancellation of gas-fired power plants in Oakville and Mississauga before the 2011 election,

The new law would force opposition leaders and MPPs from all parties to post their expenses online.

Receipts of employees at 197 government agencies and the four major hydro utilities — including Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One — would be made publicly available.

Currently, only the premier, cabinet ministers, their staff, and senior civil servants are bound by law to do so.

Ontario Public Service Employees Union president Warren (Smokey) Thomas, who represents more than 130,000 workers across the province, said the reforms “are long overdue.”

“I’ve always held the position if there’s a taxpayer’s dollar involved, the ombudsman — and also the auditor general — should be able to have a look at it,” said Thomas, adding the union supports expenses being posted.

“We wouldn’t have any problem with that. That’s no issue at all.”

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But Thomas did add that the legislation “doesn’t go far enough” and the sunshine list of public servants earning $100,000 a year and up should be expanded to include private contractors working for governments.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said it’s rich for a Liberal government being probed by the Ontario Provincial Police to be preaching accountability.

“This is actually a government under investigation by the anti-rackets squad of the OPP . . . they don’t exactly have the market cornered when it comes to accountability,” he said.

While both Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath voluntarily post their expenses for accommodation, meals, incidentals, and travel, neither leader’s disclosure is as up to date as that of the premier and her ministers.

The new bill, to be formally introduced in the legislature within the next few weeks, would make it mandatory for both opposition leaders and all their staff to post their expenses. All MPPs would have to release their receipts, but their staff would not.

Cabinet ministers’ attendance records at the legislature’s daily question period would be placed online and the Liberals will seek consent from the Tories and New Democrats “to improve how MPP voting records are posted online.”

NDP House leader Gilles Bisson accused the premier of playing partisan games on the eve of a possible campaign.

“This is nothing but crass Liberal politics. Where have these guys been for the past 10 years” said Bisson, conceding his party has long supported such measures and may well back the new law.

Some of the biggest scandals at Queen’s Park have involved some of the smallest amounts of money:

At eHealth Ontario in 2009, a consultant earning $2,700 a day infamously expensed $3.99 for Choco-Bites cookies and $1.65 Tim Hortons tea.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak was pilloried by the Liberals for expensing $4.39 in McDonalds Chicken McNuggets in 2010.

Ousted ORNGE boss Chris Mazza, who made $9.3 million over six years, used to have fruit smoothies delivered to him at his office at 3 p.m.

Former Pan Am Games CEO Ian Troop, who earned a base salary of $390,000 excluding hefty bonuses, once billed a 91 cent parking expense.

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