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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid is questioning the decision of Premier Williams
to leave the province today to attend a conference in Rhode Island,
especially when last week he stated he could not attend the Offshore
Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston because the fishery issue was too
important to leave behind. When asked in the House of Assembly last week
why he was not attending the OTC conference, the Premier replied "We have a
very serious situation going on in the fishery in the province and I thought
the place I should be is right here in Newfoundland and Labrador." Today,
the Premier is attending a conference in Rhode Island, even though the
fishery is potentially heading for a disastrous season and FPI remains in
limbo.
"I fail to understand the logic of our premier," said Mr. Reid. "Last
week, he stated he could not leave the province because of the fishery. This
week, with even more problems coming to the forefront in this industry, he
packs his bags and takes off without a second thought. It certainly appears
the premier was only using the fishery as an excuse to avoid going to the
OTC conference and facing the tough questions from the oil industry
regarding the failure of the Hebron/Ben Nevis negotiations.
"It is obvious that Premier Williams knows very little about the fishery,
has very little concern about the fishery, and it is unfortunate that he is
using it as an excuse to avoid things he doesn’t want to do. A committed
premier would not be deflecting this very important issue to his minister,
especially when that minister seems confused about the issues.
"The actions of the premier speak for themselves. I hope those involved
in the fishery and the oil and gas industry see his comments for what they
are. Premier Williams will say anything to deflect an issue, it is
unfortunate that he won’t actually deal with them directly."
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