To my slight surprise, this press release just landed in my inbox:
CHUDLEIGH CALLS FOR MCGUINTY TO EXPLAIN FANTINO MATTER
(Queen’s Park) – Today Ted Chudleigh, MPP (Halton) and PC Critic to the Attorney General, questioning how the Crown handled the charge against OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino and noting the failure of the Attorney General to assign an independent Crown Attorney, called on Dalton McGuinty to explain to Ontarians why the charge against Fantino was withdrawn.
Chudleigh would not comment on the allegations against Fantino; however, he noted, “The PC Party called on the Attorney General to assign a Crown Attorney from outside the Province to this case. This would have been consistent with the Attorney General’s decision with Michael Bryant’s file. It would have helped to ensure public trust in our justice system.”
With allegations concerning a conflict of interest within the Ministry of the Attorney General and in light of the Crown’s handling of this matter public confidence in, and respect for, our justice system has been threatened.
“Eyebrows are being raised as a result of the Crown’s handling of this matter. The law must be applied equally to all and it must be applied in a fair and transparent manner. The Attorney General’s failure to assign an independent Crown Attorney to this file has threatened these fundamental principles of justice,” added Chudleigh.
“Dalton McGuinty and the Attorney General owe the people of Ontario an explanation. The rumour mill must be put to a stop and confidence in our justice system reinforced.”
I say that it was to my slight surprise not because it's wrong for the provincial Tories to be asking questions about the Fantino case, but because it's something they haven't previously seemed overly inclined to do.
To date, Fantino has lived a rather charmed political existence. He's clearly developed a mutually agreeable working relationship with Dalton McGuinty's Liberals, who made him OPP commissioner and don't seem disturbed by his rather heavy-handed way of doing that job. But he's also seen by many Conservatives to be one of their own - there's often been speculation about him running for provincial office under their banner - and they've seemingly preferred to focus their attention on other things.
Of course, there's nothing directly critical of Fantino in today's release, nor should there be when it's a Crown decision that's in question. But the implicit criticism of the charge against the commissioner being withdrawn - and the reference in the headline to the "Fantino matter" - suggests that the Tories are no longer afraid of getting on his bad side.
That has to be considered a good thing, since this is exactly the sort of release you expect an opposition party to put out today. There may well be absolutely nothing more to this story than meets the eye, but it's better for the Tories to be asking questions than shying away from them.