Yesterday, government introduced legislation that will legally permit the Public Utilities Board to regulate gas prices in the province, something government said last week they would not have to do. Government has also made serious errors with respect to the Automobile Insurance Reform Act and the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act.

"This government is in chaos and absolute disarray," said Mr. Grimes. "It appears that the Premier and his ministers are flying by the seat of their pants, not doing their homework, and have to backtrack to get things done correctly. Government should have this work done before coming to the House of Assembly. As time moves on, it seems this government is becoming more and more incompetent as they try to impose their will on the people of this province.

"We witnessed first hand how this government bungled the public sector strike. Now, we find out that recent decisions by the Petroleum Products Pricing Commission may not be legal because the proper legislative work wasn’t completed. This demonstrates that government was more concerned with firing Mr. George Saunders than looking after the best interests of the people of the province.

"In addition to the PPPC legislation, government has brought forward an incomplete and confusing piece of insurance legislation that will do nothing to help the consumers of the province. This legislation contains little in the way of long-term benefits, as was promised by this government during and after the election. If government was not prepared to introduce this piece of important legislation, they should have told the people of the province that they needed more time, did their research, got the legislation right and then came to the House of Assembly for approval. I fear the current piece of legislation is being rushed for political reasons and consumers will suffer.

"On Wednesday, the Fish Harvesters Act was introduced into the House of Assembly. A short time later, government noticed errors and proposed an amendment to their own legislation. If ministers spent more time reviewing their legislation before coming to the legislature, these mistakes should not happen. The Premier and his ministers should start focusing on getting their legislation correct and stop worrying about closing the House of Assembly to avoid more public scrutiny. We, as the Official Opposition, are willing to spend as long as it takes debating legislation to ensure they make the right decisions for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."