The Honorable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, said today that he will be asking his party's members on the Internal Economy Commission (IEC) of the House of Assembly to bring forward a motion that constituency allowances for this year will be decreased by the amount of the extra payment relating to a 2004 decision of the IEC, or otherwise repaid.

"In 2004, the IEC made a decision to grant excess payments to members of the House of Assembly," said Premier Williams. "I became aware of the decision some time after the fact, and I don�t think there is any disagreement that it was a poor decision that did not reflect the values and guiding principles of our government at that time. There is no defense for such excess payments while our government was at the same time asking our public sector workers to accept a wage freeze. In addition, I will be asking our members to bring forward a motion to change the legislation governing the IEC, to ensure that the IEC never again has the arbitrary power to remove the AG from reviewing the books of the House of Assembly. I would hope that all parties on the IEC would agree with these proposals."

The Premier said that while he will not defend the decision and did not take the excess payment personally, it is important for the public sector to remember that the provincial government has invested additional monies into the public sector in a variety of ways since the strike of 2004.

"Our government made a decision at that time to impose a wage freeze for two years and we appreciate the sacrifice that workers made," added the Premier. "I am personally thankful for the significant role they played in helping to turn our province�s financial situation around.

"In recognition of the role public service workers play, in 2005 our government reached an agreement to give an extra one per cent raise to the public service worth approximately $22 million. We did this because they deserved to reap the rewards of our improving economy. We also funded and secured the teachers� pension fund, which was on the verge of collapse, with almost $2 billion. In addition, we gave an ex-gratia payment of $24 million. This is something we were not legally obliged to do and something previous governments would not even consider. But we did it because it was the right thing to do."

The Premier also thanked the AG for his work.

"Based on a specific commitment that I made prior to being elected premier, our government brought the Auditor General back in to the House of Assembly to clean things up. I have also appointed Chief Justice Green to do a complete overhaul of constituency allowances, and I am confident that his work will address the serious systemic issues in the House of Assembly," said Premier Williams. "I am hoping that his report will include full public access to the IEC, as well as strict and transparent rules governing constituency allowances to ensure that public confidence in the House of Assembly is fully restored."

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Media contact:
Elizabeth Matthews
Director of Communications
Office of the Premier
709-729.3960, 351-1227
elizabethmatthews@gov.nl.ca