obert Benzie and Rob Ferguson
Overhauling an archaic law that was used to undermine Torontonians’ civil rights during the G20 is more important than merely casting blame for the debacle, says Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Under fire for revelations in Ombudsman André Marin’s report into why the province secretly enacted a regulation police used during the June 26-27 summit, McGuinty stressed “there’s a broader issue at play here . . . that’s the important thing.”
The premier said fixing the 1939 Public Works Protection Act — not just dissecting regulation 233/10, which his cabinet quietly passed at the request of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair weeks before the summit — is critical.
“The issue is whether it’s appropriate given our present-day values and given an old law, which I am confident doesn’t strike the balance that you and I would want today in terms of public safety and individual freedom of expression,” McGuinty told reporters Friday in London.
“When you start talking about civil rights, individual freedoms, you’re talking about those things that in fact define us as a free and democratic society. So it’s not an academic debate. It’s not some esoteric discussion. It’s something that is real and meaningful and important to all of us,” he said.
McGuinty said that’s why he has asked former Ontario chief justice Roy McMurtry to review the 1939 act and return next spring with recommendations.
“Forget the regulation for a moment, take a look at the very basis for our regulation and tell us whether or not it’s in keeping with our values today. He may even comment on its constitutionality for all I know.”
While McGuinty said he accepts “all of Mr. Marin’s findings,” he played down the fact that the ombudsman revealed Liberal officials plotted to keep the regulatory change a secret for weeks before the Star exposed it on June 25.
“We didn’t get it right when it comes to communication. We got it out late, we didn’t put it out in a way that was clear to everybody, there was some resulting confusion and we accept responsibility for that.”
In an interview to be broadcast Saturday on Global TV’s Focus Ontario, Blair agreed “we could have done a better job of communicating.”
NDP MPP Peter Kormos (Welland) said the ombudsman’s report proves the need for a full public inquiry to fill in the blanks.
“In a public inquiry, names would be named, people would be required to testify under oath, there’d be cross-examination,” said Kormos.
Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman (Thornhill) said “the premier simply doesn’t get it. This is not a matter of communication — it’s a cover-up.”