|
Opposition Leader Gerry Reid says in light of the termination of two
officials from the College of the North Atlantic for receiving honourariums
from the Qatari government, he is calling upon Minister Hedderson to have an
appraisal done on the watch he received from the Qatari government to ensure
a double standard is not being set. "To ensure there is no double standard
between a minister accepting a gift and officials receiving honourariums, I
am calling upon Minister Hedderson to have a public appraisal done on his
watch," said Mr. Reid. "The only indication that has been given as to the
value of this watch is a personal appraisal done by the minister. Is it
acceptable for a minister to accept a watch that is probably worth much more
than $2000? This minister fired two high ranking female officials at the
college for accepting an honourarium payment, yet believes it is okay for
him to accept expensive gifts himself. There is something very wrong with
this picture.
"On an open line program on Friday, the minister stated that the value of
the watch is increasing daily. Is this an attempt to cover-up the true value
of the watch? The people of the province have to judge for themselves
whether the minister should be allowed to accept gifts of this nature. Would
it be any more acceptable if a private contractor gave the minister this
type of gift? Would he continue to say that it is acceptable because he
filed it in accordance with conflict of interest guidelines? The absurdity
of the minister’s excuse justify why the laws need to be changed. Ministers
should not be allowed to accept and keep gifts that benefit them personally.
"For a government that fired two respected people for accepting
honourariums and is now launching a legal investigation into the matter, I
suggest they look at the actions of their own cabinet ministers. It is
highly hypocritical and unethical for this minister to set a double
standard. It is time for the minister to accept responsibility for his
actions, admit that he should not have kept the watch, and instead of making
excuses, get the watch appraised and donate it to charity. If Minister
Hedderson refuses to do the right thing, he should tender his resignation
immediately."
|