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Opposition Leader Roger Grimes says a recent government
advertising campaign on the new offshore revenue sharing agreement is
nothing more than political propaganda, something the Progressive
Conservative Government said they would never do while in Opposition.
"Premier Williams continuously criticized me for
advertising campaigns while I was Premier," said Mr. Grimes. "He stated that
he would never undertake political advertising campaigns with taxpayer
dollars. In media reports today, government has admitted to spending almost
$200,000 of public money on this most recent campaign, advertising that is
nothing more than political propaganda.
"I am also very concerned that this contract was
awarded by the Premier’s Office to a company whose Vice President ran the PC
party election campaign in 2003 without going through the proper tender
process. Once again, this government said they would never award contracts
without going through due process. They criticized the former government for
similar expenditures, however, they are now doing the exact same thing
themselves. It is obvious that this is a government of hypocrisy.
"This approach is becoming more common with this
government. We have yet to receive any answers to our questions in the House
of Assembly regarding a $100,000 contract awarded to Market Insights Inc.
and another $41,000 to Ryan Research and Communications. Are these further
examples of Premier Williams looking after his friends?
"Premier Williams campaigned on a new approach to
government. He stated that he would not undertake political advertising
campaigns and would always go through the proper process in awarding
contracts. The people of the province judged our actions in the last
election and decided they wanted a different approach. I am certain this is
not the approach they supported."
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