Yesterday in the House of Assembly, Opposition Leader Roger Grimes expressed concerns over recent reports that former Petroleum Products Pricing Commissioner George Saunders, received a phone call at 10:30pm on a Friday evening, informing him that his contract had not expired, as was earlier reported to him by Government Services Minister Diane Whelan.

The dialogue from the House of Assembly is below:

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, last week in the House the Minister of Government Services announced regressive and unnecessary changes to the Petroleum Products Pricing Commission. She, in fact, stated that the contract for the Commissioner expired today, May 25. Why did the former Commissioner receive a phone call late Friday night, at the beginning of a long holiday weekend, from the Deputy Minister of Government Services advising him that his contract did not expire until the end of the month?

I ask the Minister of Government Services, why did she give the former Commissioner a premature termination notice? Is it another example of the government’’s bungling when it comes to the decision-making process or just an example of the government’’s haste to remove a very effective Commissioner and start pleasing the oil companies instead?

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, an Order-in-Council was issued by the former Administration, and even the Commissioner did not realize that his term was up. May 25 was the end of the Commissioner’’s term and it was later discovered that the previous Administration had rescinded that order and issued another Order-in-Council.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

So, the minister admits that she did not know the details before she made the announcement last week. It is not surprising, Mr. Speaker, to this side of the House, I can tell you, for sure. Mr. Speaker, was this, in fact, the minister’’s attempt to hide the fact that she made another fairly serious blunder or was this just another work in progress similar to the Budget documents that she described a couple of weeks ago?

I ask the minister, Mr. Speaker: Why did you request that the former Commissioner submit a resignation effective yesterday, yesterday, a resignation effective yesterday in exchange for an extra week of salary and benefits until the end of May? Who directed the deputy minister to make this late night phone call on Friday night asking the former Commissioner to resign so he could be guaranteed an extra week’’s pay and benefit?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, myself and the Commissioner had a conversation and, as far as I was concerned, his contract was up May 25. He informed me at that time that he was relieved, that he had a job waiting, a campaign job, that he was very pleased with his work at the Commission, and was very pleased with the government. In fact, right now the PUB will be taking over that Commission, and effective today there will be a new Commissioner in place.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: A supplementary, the hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, let me try to ask the question again, because I believe it needs clarification.

Could the minister tell the House and the people of the Province, who directed her Deputy Minister to call the former Commissioner late on Friday night, at the beginning of a long holiday weekend, and ask that he send in a letter of resignation, when last week she stood in this House and announced that he was terminated effective today? The question was: Who gave the instruction to try and bribe the Commissioner to submit a letter of resignation in exchange for an extra week’’s pay? That is the question, Mr. Speaker.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, for all intents and purposes a new Commission was going to start on the 25^th of May. The previous Commissioner and myself had that conversation and we both agreed that he did a fine job, and he said that he had new employment waiting. He was very agreeable with the Deputy, from my sources; that he was delighted to send a letter of resignation into the department.

Thank you.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, let me ask the question again, because if we are not going to get the answer in the House, the people of the Province will get the answer sometime, somewhere. I expect we should get it in the House of Assembly.

I ask the Minister: Why did you rush the termination before the effective date, and, then, who instructed the Deputy Minister to request a letter of resignation which has not appeared? I have seen a copy of the letter that was sent to the minister today, Mr. Speaker. There is no resignation. Why did the government feel it was important to try to have the former Commissioner resign his position instead of being terminated at the end of his contract, at the end of May, as the law and his contract would dictate, Mr. Speaker?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Minister of Government Services.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MS WHALEN: Mr. Speaker, the PUB was notified that the Mr. Noseworthy would be the new Commissioner taking over the PPPC. The conversation, as I was informed by my Deputy, was that Mr. Saunders would submit a resignation today, effective May 24. He will be paid an extra week, but what I would like to ask the Leader of the Opposition: Why did they rescind the first order and make it a second order, was it to give a political appointee another week’’s pay?