Executive Council
December 19, 2006Premier
Calls on Opposition to Act Responsibly and with Integrity
The Honourable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland
and Labrador, today called upon the Official Opposition to start acting
with greater responsibility and integrity as they dispatch their public
role, which is to provide fair, balanced and credible opposition.
On November 22, 2006, the House of Assembly passed a resolution to allow
the Auditor General (AG) to review the circumstances surrounding
government�s decision to purchase fibre optic lines for the province.
This resolution was passed unanimously by the government members, while
many of the opposition members rejected the motion. The Premier said
government officials responded appropriately to the Auditor General�s
request for Cabinet documents. Having been in government for more than
14 years, the Official Opposition is fully aware that providing access
to Cabinet documents is not permitted by law.
"The Auditor General Act (Section 19) itself prohibits the disclosure of
certain information to the Auditor General. Included in this prohibition
is the disclosure of Cabinet confidences and information harmful to law
enforcement (sections 18 and 22 of the Access to Information and
Protection of Privacy Act, respectively),� said Premier Williams. �While
our government is fully committed to facilitating this review, we must
nevertheless abide by the law. To provide Cabinet documentation would in
fact break the act governing the office of the AG. The AG was assured
that he will have access to all departmental documents which informed
the preparation of the Cabinet documents. The AG made the request for
Cabinet documents because the issue arose in his meeting with the
Opposition house leader and the leader of the NDP, but he is quite aware
that the law does not permit such access. The resolution of the House of
Assembly calling on the AG to conduct an audit is welcomed by the
government but the resolution on its own does not overturn the other
applicable laws.�
The Premier said government took the extraordinary step of inviting the
AG to review the files associated with this investment, because there is
absolutely nothing to hide. �We have answered the same questions from
the Opposition over and over again, and now they are asserting that we
are trying to hide something from the AG in his review,� added the
Premier. �This is wrong. The Official Opposition knows better. It is
absolutely incredible to me that the same party that sat on a new
transparency act for years, leaving it for our government to finally
proclaim, now has the hypocrisy to accuse this government of hiding
information�. The Premier added that the general public is fully aware
of the previous administrations denying the Auditor General access to
important information, and the Williams� administration stands proudly
against that record.
�For the Leader of the Official Opposition, Gerry Reid, to continue his
attack on a government investment that is supported by NATI, the
Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Municipalities, Memorial
University, College of the North Atlantic, the St. John�s Board of Trade
and many, many others, is incredible. Our government made a $15 million
investment that will save taxpayers, businesses and educational
facilities hundreds of millions of dollars. That is a fact. The
investment will greatly benefit rural communities, specifically along
the south coast. That is a fact. It is time for the Opposition to stop
with character attacks and petty, partisan politics, and to start
supporting economic and rural development in Newfoundland and Labrador,�
concluded the Premier.
Media contact:
Elizabeth Matthews
Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
709-729-3960, 351-1227
elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca
2006 12 19
1:15 p.m.