OPP warrant sought emails of McGuinty Liberals' staff as part of criminal probe

A provincial court in Ottawa has released two pages of a search warrant obtained by Ontario Provincial Police in November as part of the force's criminal investigation into whether senior officials in Dalton McGuinty's government deleted documents linked to the cancellation of two gas-fired power plants.

The documents show the OPP was seeking the entire email boxes of the then premier's chief of staff, David Livingston, and deputy chief of staff, Laura Miller. The OPP also wanted the backup tapes of the email for both on three specific dates in 2012:

• Sept. 24.
• Oct. 29.
• Nov. 26.

The searches took place at government offices at 222 Jarvis St. in late November.

Livingston has been under investigation by the OPP anti-rackets squad for breach of trust in connection with the province’s cancellation of the plants in the midst of an election campaign.

The abrupt cancellation cost Ontario taxpayers an estimated $1 billion — a scandal that dogged his successor, Kathleen Wynne, through her recent re-election campaign. 

Investigators alleged he provided a non-government computer technician, Peter Faist, with access to computers in the premier’s office. Faist is Miller's partner. 

Police alleged Livingston sought to "wipe clean" the hard drives on those computers, deleting key emails related to the gas plants. 

The allegations have not been proven in court. Livingston has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged. 

The Wynne government was quick to point out the warrant did not target any current members of provincial parliament.

"The order is publicly available through the Ottawa Court House and is directed at IT staff only, not Ministers, MPPs, or current political staff," said a release from office of the premier.

The Wynne government said it is co-operating fully with the investigation.

The Liberal government ordered a legislative committee to write its report without agreeing to opposition demands to have Miller and Faist appear to face questions about the deleted email accounts.