Ex-Ontario political aide gets four months jail for deleted gas plant emails
TORONTO — A plot to delete documents about the Ontario government’s pre-election cancellation of two gas plants struck at the heart of the democratic process, a judge said Wednesday as he sentenced a former top political aide to four months in jail.
The crime committed by David Livingston, chief of staff to former Liberal premier Dalton McGuinty, was extremely serious and demands proper denunciation, Ontario court Judge Timothy Lipson said.
“His conduct was an affront to, and an attack upon, democratic institutions and values,” Lipson said. “An attempt to tamper with the democratic process requires a strong denunciatory response.”
Lipson also sentenced Livingston, 65, a first-time offender with an otherwise exemplary record of private and public service, to 12 months probation, including 100 hours of community service. Livingston was led from court in handcuffs.