Sudbury MPP Glenn Thibeault was away from the Ontario Legislature on Thursday, but he couldn't escape questions about the ongoing Sudbury byelection scandal.
In town to announce $9.6 million in NOHFC funding for several local groups, Thibeault faced a media scrum afterward that focused on the rough ride he received recently at Queen's Park.
Opposition parties have been calling for him to resign after it emerged that a federal prosector believes Thibeault sought something in exchange for leaving the federal NDP to run for the provincial Liberals in the February 2015 byelection.
While not charged himself, former Liberal campaign director Patricia Sorbara has been charged with offering a bribe to Thibeault. It was the Crown in the case who told reporters they believe Thibeault sought something from the Liberals.
He repeated Thursday he has no plans to step down.
"I'm not going anywhere,” Thibeault said. “As I've said all along, I've done nothing wrong. There was no inducement, no nothing, in my opinion, and I'm just going to continue to work hard for the people of Sudbury."
Thibeault had an emotional reaction this week in Toronto when addressing reporters, talking about the difficulty of having his children exposed to ugly accusations against him. That prompted a charge from Tory MPP Steve Clark that Thibeault was shedding “crocodile tears.”
It's those types of personal attacks he says shouldn't have a place is Canadian politics.
"It should always be about policy, not personal attacks,” Thibeault said. “But you know what? It is what it is. The unfortunate thing is when I signed up for politics, my family didn't. They didn't sign up for a lot of this. But at the end of the day, I've got to continue doing what I'm doing. That's being the best MPP I can and being the best Minister of Energy that I can for the province and for the people of Sudbury."
While he hasn't made a final decision, he said he plans to continue with his career in politics past the next election in 2018.
"There are days when you're like, 'I could be at home right now with my family, not missing basketball practice or dance recitals,' ” he said. “But you get into public service because you want to help the common good. That's why I'm here. The only reason I've decided to stick around and keep doing this is because I love my city. I love my province. I love my country and I want to serve.
"It comes with a cost. I recognize that. I work through it."
He denied that a fundraiser planned for Nov. 23 in Sudbury was cancelled because of the controversy, saying it was called off before the bribery comments were made. Wynne and several other cabinet ministers had been scheduled to attend.
"It was something we were looking at doing, and we just didn't have time to focus on it," Thibeault said.
He said his schedule has filled up since he became energy minister and he didn't have the time to devote to organizing it.
"We were looking at rescheduling it beforehand because, as the Minister of Energy, that's my full whole focus is being the best MPP for Sudbury and being the Minister of Energy,” he said.
"For us, it was a lot of things relating to work schedules for other people who are the volunteers who actually do this for me."
While he's had plenty of critics on Opposition benches and in newspaper comment sections, Thibeault said he's received a flood of support from people in the city who have been contacting him in recent weeks.
"For some who don't like me, I understand that,” he said. “(But) I'm strengthened by the support I'm getting from the people of Sudbury — people I haven't heard from in years are reaching out. I take great pride in that and I thank them for that.
"And my (Liberal) party has been nothing but fantastic. From the premier to all the MPPs and the ministers, they have my back. They really do. I'm so proud to be a member of the Liberal Party. I'm so proud to be part of Kathleen Wynne's government."
He also left open the possibility of legal action in light of the comments last week from the Crown prosecutor, who accused Thibeault of seeking something in exchange for running in the byelection.
"Right now my lawyer is looking at all the options that are available,” Thibeault said. “We haven't made any decisions on anything. But it is something I think we need to look at."
