The Leftist Response Will Be To Look For Scapegoats......

.....either Mike Harris, Stephan Harper, the shadow cabinet that cacauses at Tim Hortons, etc.

McGuinty? Like nailing MUSH to wall

There are two reasons Premier Dalton McGuinty doesn't want to give Ombudsman Andre Marin the right to investigate Ontario's "MUSH" sector -- municipalities, universities, school boards and hospitals.

And why Health Minister George Smitherman insists Marin isn't needed to probe the deadly C. difficile outbreak that has claimed at least 264 lives in seven hospitals since 2006.

The first reason is governments instinctively resist greater openness and scrutiny.

The second is the smart and media-savvy Marin scares the daylights out of them.

In one sense, that's absurd.

After all, McGuinty is the premier and a master political tactician.

Smitherman is the self-designated "tough guy" of the cabinet whom, we are urged to believe, cracks heads behind closed doors if he must to ensure public safety and quality health care.

By contrast, Marin has no power. He can't charge or fire anyone or even order changes to procedures.

All he can do is investigate, report and recommend. His only weapon is to sway public opinion.

That's what Marin did when he exposed the culture of denial inside the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which led it to stonewall about obvious problems it was having with some OLG retailers fraudulently cashing winning lottery tickets. It's what he did when he revealed the unconscionable, bullying tactics of Ontario's Criminal Injuries Board when compensating crime victims.

Both cases prompted reforms, but such agencies are bit players at Queen's Park. By contrast, to deny Marin the ability he wants to investigate public complaints about the MUSH sector, as other provincial ombudsmen can and which accounts for 80% of provincial spending, is absurd.

Marin also rightly complains Toronto Mayor David Miller, lobbying McGuinty for greater powers, including the right to meet privately with his executive committee (which we support), has failed to appoint a municipal ombudsman, as required, by Jan. 1. 2007. That's disturbing.

Whether McGuinty extends Marin's oversight to the MUSH sector will be the real test of how seriously the premier believes in accountability. If he doesn't, nothing else he says on the issue matters.