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Opposition Leader Roger Grimes says he is surprised that the Department of
Transportation and Works has refused to provide information to Placentia and
St. Mary’s MHA Fabian Manning regarding road work expenditures in his
district. "This is a government that has continuously stated that they are
open and transparent, apparently nothing could be further from the truth,"
said Mr. Grimes. "It is very unusual for a government department to ask
their own MHAs to apply for information regarding their provincial districts
under the Access to Information (ATI) legislation. Not only is this
government hiding information from the Opposition and the media, they are
also withholding information from their own MHAs."
The request was made by MHA Fabian Manning on Friday, April 8th.
In his request to the Department of Transportation and Works, he asked for a
list of all funding or financial contributions to the District of Placentia
and St. Mary’s since November 1st, 2003. A response was sent from
the department telling him his request was refused because the $5 dollar ATI
processing fee was not included.
"If PC members are having a difficult time getting information out of
their own government, what chance does the general public have of getting
similar information? In the past, requests of this type by MHAs regarding
their own district did not have to go through the ATI Act. It now appears
that this government’s attempt of openness, transparency and accountability
is nothing more than a charade."
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