TORONTO -- Ontario's information commissioner says a number of emails related to two cancelled gas plants have been recovered, even though she was told by the government that they couldn't be found.
Ann Cavoukian says she's "appalled" that she was given incorrect information during her investigation of missing emails, which were supposed to have been handed over to the legislative committee that's looking into the gas plants.
Cavoukian says the Ministry of Government Services has accepted full responsibility for the mistake and will explain what happened within two weeks.
Energy critic Vic Fedeli says the emails belonged to Craig MacLennan, the former chief of staff at the Ministry of Energy who was singled out by Cavoukian in her scathing report last month.
The commissioner concluded that senior Liberals broke the law by deleting emails related to the two gas plants in Oakville and Mississauga.
She also reported that top Liberals in then-Premier Dalton McGuinty's office not only deleted their emails on the gas plants, but also tried to wipe the data completely from government computers.
"I am appalled that we were provided with incorrect information during the course of my investigation, that was misleading," she said in a statement late Wednesday.
"I am, however, very pleased that these records have now been found."
The opposition parties say the emails were wiped out to try to cover up the true costs of cancelling the gas plants, which has grown to an estimated $585 million.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating the matter.
Cavoukian's report said David Livingston, McGuinty's chief of staff, tried as late as January to find out how to permanently delete emails related to the gas plants.
McGuinty told a legislative committee that Liberal staff did their best to follow confusing, contradictory and murky guidelines on document retention, and the rules need to be clarified.
