Sudbury byelection scandal: Opposition parties finally move on in Question Period
New information needs to drip out in order to sustain a scandal, says a political analyst
Ontario opposition parties are finally moving on to other business at Queen's Park after lobbing 131 straight questions at the Liberal government about the Sudbury byelection scandal.
During Monday's session of Question Period, the conversation took a turn for the first time when Progressive Conservative MPP Ernie Hardeman asked a question about housing services instead.
An inevitable result, according to a political analyst, because new information needs to drip out in order to sustain a scandal.
With the Sudbury byelection scandal, Nipissing University Political Science Professor David Tabachnick said the opposition merely asked the same question in different ways, hoping to elicit an answer from the governing party.
The governing Liberals, for their part, gave a series of what Tabachnick characterized as "non-answers" — they're still waiting for the Ontario Provincial Police investigation to wrap up, and nothing wrong had occurred.
"Without new information coming out, the parties have had to move on," said Tabachnick, a politics professor at Nipissing University.
Public perception, too, may have been a factor in the conversation shift.
Turning the tables
"Maybe the problem is the public is viewing these questions as just a partisan tactic. Rather than actually trying to get to the heart of the issue, that they are simply manoeuvring for political points and I think that turns people off," he said.
It's anticipated that the scandal could find new legs once the premier meets with provincial police in April.
Meanwhile, the Liberals are wasting no time in trying to turn the tables on the opposition.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Glen Murray took a swipe on Monday at the NDP after Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas asked a question about the second CN train derailment near Gogama, Ont.
"I’m very glad the member has asked the question. It’s disappointing that it’s taken so many weeks for her to get up and ask a question on an issue that is now that old," said Murray.
The New Democrats, for their part, insist their party will keep up the pressure on the government over the byelection.
"There has to be complete transparency and complete no wrongdoing when it comes to how we run our elections here in Ontario," said House Leader Gilles Bisson.