Former Premier Dalton McGuinty’s Top Aides Have Been Charged For Their Role in the Gas Plant Scandal

Two senior staffers who worked for former Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty are facing criminal charges tied to the 2011 gas plant scandal.

McGuinty's former chief of staff David Livingston, 63, and Laura Miller, 36, former deputy chief of staff, have been charged with one count each of breach of trust; mischief; and misuse of a computer system to commit the offense of mischief, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.

The pair are accused of erasing data relating to the government's contentious decision to cancel two GTA gas plants right before the October 2011 election at a cost of $1.1 billion to taxpayers.

According to the police investigation, Miller's partner Peter Faist, an IT expert, was paid $10,000 to "to wipe off personal data on approximately 20 desktop computers in the premier's office."

Miller, who moved to Vancouver to work for the BC Liberals, another government that's struggled with secrecy-related issuesas of late, released a statement via Twitter Thursday indicating that she's quit her job and intends to fight the charges.

"Every Canadian expects and deserves impartiality and fairness in police charging decisions. I do not believe that to be the case here," she wrote.

She has reportedly filed a complaint against the OPP through the police watchdog the Ontario Independent Police Review Director.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also released a statement Thursday saying that the events in question took place before her time in office and that she's not going to comment.

Livingston and Miller and scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto Jan. 27, 2016.

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