David Livingston Sentencing

A former top political aide for Ontario’s Liberal Party has been sentenced to four months in jail for his part in the destruction of documents linked to the Gas Plant Scandal about five years ago.

David Livingston was the Chief of Staff to former Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty and Wednesday’s sentencing comes just two months ahead of a general election.

Livingston was found guilty of unauthorized use of a computer for ordering the deletion of data from 20 computers in the McGuinty Premier’s office. The judge said the wiping was indiscriminate, without regard to content. No record was kept about what was deleted. Livingston had been expressly cautioned about his obligation to produce documents, an order he defied.

Justice Timothy Lipson said in his decision, “His conduct was an affront to and an attack upon Democratic values,” He continued to say, “It was not for David Livingston to decide what the public should and should not know.”

Livingston left the courtroom in handcuffs, but his lawyer went straight over to the court of appeal.

Lawyer for Livingston, Brian Gover says, “For a 65 year old of exceptional good character, as the judge conceded, that’s a very significant sentence. our submission will be that is a harsh and excessive sentence in the circumstances, where there was no proof of actual harm.”

Conservative MPP Vic Fedeli was part of the Parliamentary Committee looking for the documents Livingston was convicted of destroying. “No sentence is going to bring back the billion dollars wasted on the gas plant scandal.” He went on to say, “We just knew there were files missing and the smugness and the arrogance of the Liberal operatives who sat in front of us, they knew they deleted the files.”

The NDP’s Peter Tabuns was also on those committee hearings. He stated, “I questioned David Livingston in committee. He had no time for democracy, no interest in the process, he was contemptuous of the legislature. I think someone who thought they were above the law and destroyed records on that basis, was in fact, due to go to jail.”

Attorney General Yasir Naqvi would not comment on the decision.

The Provincial election is just two months away, and opposition members say this court decision reflects badly Premier Kathleen Wynne – although she wasn’t Premier, she did have a say in the cancellation of gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville; a plan the opposition says was a successful ploy to save five Liberal seats.