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Kelvin Parsons, Opposition Justice Critic and MHA for the District of
Burgeo-Lapoile, says the actions of the Williams Government show that they
are far from open and transparent. Parsons was responding to the refusal of
government to release public opinion polls to the media and their delay in
proclaiming the lobbyist legislation in the province. "I was surprised
that the Williams government refused to release public opinion polls to the
public," said Mr. Parsons. "This is a government that claims to be the most
transparent and accountable government in the province’s history. Are these
the actions of an open and transparent government?
"In addition, the lobbyist legislation that was passed in the House of
Assembly in December is still not in effect. Government touted this
legislation as a major piece of their agenda to become an open and
transparent government. It has been six months and this legislation still
hasn’t been brought into effect. Why has government delayed implementing
this piece of legislation?
"There are many questions that can be raised concerning this delay. Why
hasn’t government expedited this process? Who has been lobbying government
on various issues, especially FPI, over the past six months? When can the
people of the province expect this legislation to finally be proclaimed? For
a government that continuously claims to be open and accountable, their
actions indicate the exact opposite.
"This government’s secretive nature has been demonstrated time and time
again. We witnessed the shemozzle concerning the Sino Corporation and their
Lower Churchill proposal. Now, government is refusing to release any
information at all concerning other companies interested in developing the
project. Originally, government refused to release how much money was
provided to Teletech for the establishment of a call centre in Mount Pearl.
These are just a few recent examples that demonstrate that this government
does not want to release information.
"This government’s refusal to release documents under the Access to
Information Act, even when ordered to do so by the Information Commissioner,
and the delay in proclaiming the lobbyist legislation are of concern. For a
government that claims to be open and transparent, their actions certainly
prove they are not."
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