Kathleen Wynne, Tim Hudak face off over gas plant allegations

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday she had no choice but to threaten Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudakwith a lawsuit after he refused to retract claims she may have overseen the wiping of hard drives in the premier's office.

Hudak, PC energy critic Lisa MacLeod, the Ontario PC Fund and theOntario PC Party were served with a notice of libel late Fridayafter getting a cease and desist letter from the premier's lawyerearlier in the week, said Wynne.

"I don't do it lightly, but I want to be able to debate matters of fact," she said after a 43-minute speech at anItalianculturalcentre in Toronto.

"The allegations that were made by the leader of the Oppositionwere very disturbing and so we have taken that action, but it will unfold as part of the legal process."

Wynne started the legal battle March 30 with an open letterdemanding Hudak stop repeating that she "possibly ordered" thedestruction of government documents in the gas plants scandal. Thepremier's letter called Hudak's statements "false, misleading anddefamatory allegations that are utterly unsupported" by evidence.

Friday's libel notice included the second "cease and desist"letter from Wynne's lawyer to Hudak, but the PC leader said againMonday that he won't back down.

"No, of course not," said Hudak. "I've got a job to do andwe're going to do it and not be intimidated by a series of angryletters coming from Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals."

Hudak said it's his duty to ask questions about the Liberals'attempts to hide emails, correspondence and other documents ontheirdecisions to cancel two gas plants prior to the 2011 election, at acost of $1.1 billion.

"I just wish they'd spend as much time trying to get our economygoing again as they are scrambling behind the scenes with lawyers,"he said. "I think they've got the wrong priorities."

Both Wynne and Hudak refused to release copies of the libelnotice Monday.

Wynne's office also would not say what damages, if any, she isseeking, but the premier herself said she just wants Hudak toretract his accusations about her having a role in the allegedwiping of 24 hard drives in the premier's office.

During her campaign-style speech Monday, Wynne said that despitethe legal wrangling with Hudak, she would stay focused on theupcoming budget, which she knows will trigger an election if theLiberals can't get the NDP to support it.

The premier lashed out at both opposition parties during herspeech, but she didn't mention NDP Leader Andrea Horwath by name.

"What Tim Hudak has said he would do is make deep cuts in healthcare and education and that means teachers, support workers in theschool system and nurses would be fired," said Wynne. "I don'tknow what the NDP would do because they haven't talked about whatthey would do."

Horwath said again Monday that the NDP want to see the budgetbefore deciding if they can prop up the minority Liberal governmentfor a third year in a row or will agree to join with the Tories todefeat the budget and force an election. The legal wrangling betweenWynne and Hudak is nothing but a "side show" to the real scandalsurrounding the cancelled gas plants and the attempted cover-up,added Horwath.

"The premier of this province and the leader of the officialopposition can send threats back and forth until they're both bluein the face, but what New Democrats want to do is get answers forOntarians," she said.