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Minister refutes Opposition statements Loyola Sullivan, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, today refuted the Opposition comments regarding the recent announcement of a pilot project on palliative home care in the Corner Brook area, to be done in partnership with VON. "Government is not in contravention of the Financial Administration Act in announcing funding for the pilot project," said Minister Sullivan. "As Finance Minister and President of Treasury Board, I take my responsibility for managing the province�s finances very seriously. I would not condone actions which would go against the very laws intended to ensure public monies are properly spent." The minister explained that the new federal-provincial agreement enabled government to have the capacity to fund the palliative care pilot project. " The additional federal money gives us the flexibility to put existing, available funding to important, priority areas," he said. "The province will receive funding specifically for health care from the federal government as a result of the new federal-provincial agreement achieved at the recent first ministers� meeting. Because we know we are getting new money for health care, government was able to allocate existing resources within the Department of Health and Community Services to fund the project. This does not contravene the Financial Administration Act." The new federal-provincial agreement on health care identified palliative care as one of the five priority areas to be addressed. "Because the department identified existing resources which could be used to fund such a project, government was presented with an opportunity to begin immediately to address a priority area in the health agreement, and we moved to do so," said Minister Sullivan. "Government has not broken the Financial Administration Act, and we have no problem with the Public Accounts Committee or the Auditor General reviewing this situation," said the minister. "This ploy is yet another example that the Opposition simply does not understand the Financial Administration Act. Mr. Grimes, as a former Premier, should know the laws governing our province, yet it is obvious he doesn�t. The Opposition continuously tries to mislead the public, and to me, it is irresponsible." Media Contact: Diane Keough, Communications, (709) 729-6830 or (709) 685-4401 2004 10 05 1:30 p.m. |
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