... at Queen's Park, across Ontario and elsewhere.

* Incoming premier Kathleen Wynne became Premier-designate Thursday morning at Queen’s Park after meeting with outgoing Premier Dalton McGuinty and Lieutenant Governor David Onley.

McGuinty informed Onley he was no longer the head of the Ontario Liberal Party and that Wynne should be called on to form the next government at a swearing-in ceremony to be held Feb. 11. The legislature will be recalled on Feb. 19.

Wynne will make her first speech as premier-designate on Friday, addressing the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association at the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto.

* Calling a public inquiry into the cancellation of the Oakville and Mississauga gas plants is not something a new government is interested in pursuing, Wynne told reporters Thursday.

On Monday, New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Horwath called on the government to launch an inquiry after the House resumes sitting Feb. 19 to look into the issue and allow other government business to continue.

NDP energy critic Peter Tabuns spoke with media Thursday morning to restate his leader’s claim that a public inquiry is the best approach.

“One way or the other, we are going to ask that this matter be considered, that witnesses be called and that we get to the bottom of this,” he said.

But Wynne threw cold water on any such plans.

“I have said that I really believe that all of the information needs to be public: we need to do everything we can to make that information public,” she told reporters.

“I’ve had a conversation with Andrea Horwath and my hope is that we’ll be able to come to understand exactly what information the opposition is looking for.”

On a CBC Radio phone-in show Thursday afternoon, Wynne reiterated her stance, telling a caller that spending $20 million to $30 million on a public inquiry was “not the responsible thing to do.”

The NDP's proposal isn't finding much traction elsewhere. Tory MPP Rob Leone told reporters Wednesday that the Progressive Conservatives are not in favour of an inquiry either.

“The cost of a public inquiry is excessive,” Leone said. “We don’t believe that that’s necessary. We’re paid as individuals to represent our constituents and hold the government to account and that's why we expect this legislative hearing to take place.”

* Although only 22 per cent of Ontarians have registered as organ and tissue donors, the province had a record number of lifesaving transplants in 2012. Some 1,053 organ transplants took place last year, an increase of 11 per cent over 2011 and the third year in a row the number has gone up. There were a total 253 donors in 2012, an increase of 15 per cent over 2011, according to information released Thursday at www.BeADonor.ca.

"We are making progress, but more lives could be saved,"Health Minister Deb Matthews said in a press release from the Trillium Gift of Life Network.

The GTA continues to lag behind the rest of the province in registering consent to organ and tissue donation, with Concord, Woodbridge, Vaughan and Scarborough reporting rates under 10 per cent. Northern Ontario communities continue to lead donor registration rates. Two suburbs of Sudbury - Hanmer and Garson - report 50 per cent of their population as registered organ and tissue donors.

* Toronto and Stratford are on the shortlist for the world's smartest communities. The two Ontario cities join Columbus, Ohio; Taichung City, Taiwan; Taoyuan County, Taiwan; Oulu, Finland; and Tallinn, Estonia, on the list compiled by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), which recognizes towns, cities and regions around the globe for innovative use of broadband technology.

It's Stratford's third year in a row being shortlisted, according to the Stratford Beacon-Herald. "It's great to have the work of the community validated in such a positive way," Mayor Dan Mathieson said.

The ICF's 2013 Intelligent Community of the Year will be announced in June.

Quote of the day

"So far as I know they've told me I can't drive but they haven't told me I have to leave my house."

- Premier-designate Kathleen Wynne on her decision to continue residing in her own home instead of the residence bought by the Ontario Liberal Party after the 2003 election for use by the party leader.

Tweet of the day

- Joel Wood, a senior research economist at the Fraser Institute, takes issue with the argument that it would be too expensive to hold a public inquiry into the Liberals' cancellation of two gas plants.

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