"What is really needed here is the political leadership to forcefully make our case in Ottawa on a number of issues which are vital to the future of this province. So far we have not seen any evidence from this government that the political will or the political leadership is there. Simply establishing a new office in Ottawa will not solve all these problems what is really needed is a new attitude from this government," says Grimes.

Grimes also questioned Williams regarding the timing in establishing the office. He says the time for creating an office in Ottawa was immediately after the Provincial election so the valuable time leading into the recent Federal campaign could have been used to further the intergovernmental objectives of this province during that time. "Now almost a year after being elected they are opening an office in Ottawa to try to make some progress. If this office is so important why wasn’t there more urgency placed on having it established in the critical time leading up to and during the federal election."

The Opposition Leader says he is not fundamentally opposed to the concept of having an office in Ottawa, but he will be watching very closely to examine the costs and benefits of such an initiative at this point in time. "This has been a very tough year for the people of this province due to the massive cutbacks and layoffs handed down by the Williams government. Health care, education, social services and other essential social programs experienced cuts and there are indications more will follow. In such a context of cutbacks we want to be sure that such an office gets meaningful results and is not just an expensive public relations exercise to give the impression that something is happening. I am a bit suspicious that this announcement is happening here in St. John’s a few weeks before a polling period, rather than at a press conference in Ottawa.

"We have seven Members of Parliament and six Senators sitting in Ottawa as representatives of this province. There is a Regional Office in St. John’s for Federal Ministers and the provincial government has an Intergovernmental Affairs department. It appears that Premier Williams has lost faith in his personal ability and the ability of senior public officials to deal with the Prime Minister and our representatives in Ottawa."

Grimes would like to know the status of many Federal-Provincial issues that include, but are not limited to the following: