OPP arrange to question Wynne over Sudbury bribery scandal

Ontario Provincial Police will question Premier Kathleen Wynne in connection with the Sudbury bribery scandal within the next six weeks.

Ms. Wynne on Tuesday said she had finally scheduled a meeting with police, more than a month after confirming investigators had asked for one. She would not disclose the exact date and time, save to say it will happen "before the end of April."

"The timing of my interview has been determined by the OPP and my legal counsel working to find a mutually convenient date," the Premier, reading from a prewritten statement, told reporters following an unrelated speech in Barrie, Ont. "They've also agreed that because there is an ongoing investigation, the dates and times of interviews will not be made public."

Asked why it apparently took so long to arrange the sit-down, Ms. Wynne replied that it was a "scheduling issue" as her lawyers tried to sort out a time with the OPP. She also dismissed the Sudbury fracas as merely "an opposition party making allegations."

But the highly unusual move – a police interview of a sitting Premier – gives some indication how seriously the OPP is taking the case.

At the centre of the scandal are Ms. Wynne's deputy chief of staff, Patricia Sorbara, and Gerry Lougheed, a Sudbury businessman, Liberal fundraiser and chair of the local police board.

Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed are alleged to have offered former Liberal candidate Andrew Olivier a government job in exchange for pulling out of the party's nomination race ahead of last month's Sudbury by-election. The Liberals wanted Mr. Olivier out of the way so then-federal NDP MP Glenn Thibeault could switch parties and take the nomination unopposed.

Mr. Olivier recorded his conversations with Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed, and subsequently posted them on Facebook. On the tapes, Ms. Sorbara presented Mr. Olivier with a list of possible jobs he could have; Mr. Lougheed said Mr. Olivier might get "a reward" for dropping out of the race.

In court documents last month, the OPP alleged Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed broke the Criminal Code by "negotiating appointments," an offence that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Separately, chief electoral officer Greg Essensa found that Ms. Sorbara and Mr. Lougheed appear to have violated the province's Elections Act. Police are still investigating, and have not determined whether or not to lay charges.

The opposition has spent the last month needling the Premier over the time it took to arrange a sit-down with police. On Tuesday morning, before Ms. Wynne announced she had set up the interview, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath pointed out that the location of Ms. Wynne's speech in Barrie was just a half-hour drive from OPP headquarters in Orillia.

"Premier only 30 mins from OPP HQ today. Will she finally meet with them?" Ms. Horwath tweeted, linking to a Google map of the fastest route between the two locales. "Here's a map to help."