Article content continued

“So you agreed to have Ontarians pay billions extra in the future just so you could demonstrate that you were keeping costs within the electricity system? Park said. “I’m just going to be honest – almost no one that’s come before this committee have thought this was a good idea.”

Wynne and NDP members of the committee say the government MPPs have blocked witnesses, including provincial controller Cindy Veinot, that might counter Ford’s view that the Liberal actions were an attempt to mislead the public about a $15-billion deficit using “accounting tricks.”

Wynne said the final responsibility for her government’s decisions rests with her, and she was happy to appear before the committee to answer questions especially because there are no Liberal members.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or

While not an accountant or lawyer, Wynne said she did her best to spread the cost of massive upgrades to the electricity system in a way that did not cause undue hardship for current customers.

“That money was transparently evident in all of the work we did,” she said.

Asked if there was anything she could have done differently to avoid the issues raised by her government`s accounting, Wynne replied: “I don`t know; I really don`t know. We worked so hard on this and it was months and months of trying to find solutions.”

PC MPP Ross Romano said at no point did Wynne offer an apology.

“There was an opportunity today for the former premier to speak to the taxpayers of Ontario with respect to the nature and the form of the Fair Hydro Plan,” Romano said. “I think there was certainly some discrepancy with respect to some of the accounting mechanisms.

“If there’s anything that appears to be abundantly clear was that this was not an accounting dispute,” he insisted.

The committee has learned that Wynne had other options for borrowing money for her Fair Hydro Plan in a way that would have been transparent to taxpayers, he said.

Romano said the government members chose not to invite the provincial controller because they’ve already heard from many accounting experts.

aartuso@postmedia.com