"We are currently in the process of debating the Budget, a process that has an estimated 75 hours of debating time," said Mr. Grimes. "Government is trying to use up these hours by extending the sitting of the House well into the evening, instead of recessing at the normal hour of 5:30pm. This will ensure that the debating time is used up and the Bill will pass early.

"I have never witnessed a government forcing night sittings this early in a session, nor when there is no urgency to have this legislation passed. There is currently nothing else on the order paper to debate. As a result, once government passes their budget, the House will be able to close because there will be no further business to debate. This is an obvious ploy by government to use up the debating hours in a blatant attempt to silence the Opposition and avoid question period. This government realizes that they have been very weak in the House and have continuously avoided our questioning.

"This government must realize that they were elected to the people’s House, a place where they are expected to be held accountable for their decisions. We already know that the Premier believes the House is a waste of time. He should show more respect for this institution and realize that the House is this province’s seat of democracy. The Premier can be a dictator to his own caucus, but he will not succeed in imposing his dictatorship on the people of this province.

"If this government tries to close debate early, I can assure this government that we will do everything in our power to stop them. They may have more members, but we will represent the democratic process and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. If they were truly open and accountable, they would encourage debate and ensure the House remained open for as long as possible. It is obvious that this government is more obsessed with imposing their right-wing agenda on our province, instead of answering to the people for their decisions."