"This government does not want to be accountable to the people of the province for their decisions," said Mr. Parsons. "Thursday night they tried to rush through several pieces of legislation without having the House of Assembly cameras televise the proceedings. This is another example of this government’s lack of openness and accountability to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

"In their election blue book, the PC party committed to debating legislation during regular hours of the House of Assembly. They have broken this commitment and it now seems they would prefer to sit into the early hours of the morning under the cover of darkness to avoid public scrutiny. This is not acceptable! If this government wants to sit during the night, they should ensure that the people of the province have the opportunity to witness these proceedings.

"This government has tried to bully the Opposition from day one. The people of the province have asked us to hold this government accountable and that is what we intend to accomplish. We will not back down from representing the people. Government may wish to run and hide from their constituents, but they should realize that it is the people they represent. All Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should have the opportunity to hold their representatives accountable for their actions and decisions. The televised proceedings provided this opportunity. I would hope that government will keep this in mind during future debates before they decide to once again hide within the walls of the House of Assembly."