If Tuesday was the attack, Wednesday was the counter offensive at Queen's Park.

The day after Ontario's auditor general revealed a stunning series of bizarre and unexplained expenses in a range of government offices, those in charge are trying to reassure taxpayers they're working on solving the problems.

Jim McCarter outlined a long litany of questionable fiscal findings, including expensive cars and vacations being taken by senior members of the Children's Aid Society, unaccounted for corporate credit card use by Hydro One officials, and young children being exposed to potentially dangerous emissions from CTs and MRIs in Ontario hospitals. (For the full list, click here.)

Less than 24 hours later, ministers were in full damage control mode, starting with Premier Dalton McGuinty on that radiation warning. "It's a real concern," he admits. "We're not doctors here inside the government. We're given the advice and doing the best we can. Let's ensure we have a strong consensus within the medical community and doctors and nurses are following that."

Health Minister George Smitherman was also attempting to explain why the auditor found 300,000 more OHIP cards in existence than there are people in the province.

"I can tell you that as of October the 1st of this year we have a number of cards that is lower than the number of Ontarians and I think this is a reflection on the fact that the OHIP file is a crucial one and it's a work in progress."

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Dwight Duncan was trying to answer charged questions about those credit card expenses.

"The kinds of accountabilities that we have to have in the broader public sector have to be put into place and enforced," he agrees. "If you look at the auditor's report carefully, he did indicate that both Hydro One and O.P.G. (Ontario Power Generation) have good policies. The question is enforcement, and that's an issue I'm concerned about."
 
Children's Aid Society officials were also quick to add their voice to the findings, calling the expenses 'necessary perks' to recruit and retain top people.

It's not likely the opposition will find any of those answers adequate and they'll continue to hammer the government on the waste of money in the Legislature.