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Opposition raising further concerns about fibre_optic investigation March 26, 2007
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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid and Opposition House Leader Kelvin Parsons are raising concerns that the Auditor General=s (AG) investigation into the fibre-optic deal is being compromised because of government=s lack of co-operation in providing information. On November 22nd, the House of Assembly passed a resolution that stated, ABe it resolved that the House of Assembly, in the spirit of openness and accountability, asks the Auditor General, an independent Officer of the House of Assembly, to investigate all the details and circumstances of the fibre-optic deal.@ Since then, cabinet material has been exempted, and now a new protocol has been established by the Departments of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and Justice, together with Executive Council, that includes the vetting of all documents before they are approved for release to the AG. In addition, the AG must now ask permission to interview government employees. AThe investigation by the AG was supposed to be independent and provide all information related to the fibre-optic deal,@ said Mr. Reid. ASince the resolution was passed in the House of Assembly, cabinet documentation has been excluded and we have now been advised that additional correspondence and meetings have taken place with officials at the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, Justice and Executive Council where a vetting process has been implemented and they decide what gets released to the AG. AI must question what information is being screened out through this process. The current approach by government reeks of a cover-up and leaves one to believe that this process was nothing more than a sham. If government has nothing to hide, they must allow the AG to complete his investigation with full co-operation and access to information.@ Opposition House Leader Kelvin Parsons says correspondence between the AG and government indicate that problems exist. Parsons also noted that similar concerns were raised by the AG in a meeting held with representatives of all three parties in late February. AMr. Noseworthy stated in his letter to government that the protocol of vetting documentation before it is released was unusual and a process that he has not seen before in his investigations,@ said Mr. Parsons. AI followed-up with the AG on March 13th to see if any progress was being made in his investigation. In his response he stated that because of the vetting process established by government, he will never be in a position to determine whether or not he was given access to all documentation. AIn addition, the AG presented us with an affidavit signed by the premier which indicates Premier Williams was not part of the cabinet decision of October 26, 2006. As was pointed out by Mr. Noseworthy, it does not state which other meetings he was involved with, including cabinet deliberations, and it highly questionable as to whether this affidavit is sufficient. AGovernment=s attempt to hinder the AG defeats the spirit and the intent of the investigation. We believed that this process would be open and transparent and the AG would have full access to all the documentation required. This has not happened. It is certainly unfortunate that government is playing these kinds of games with this information. There is only one conclusion that I can come to and it is the same conclusion I had back in the Fall, government is trying to conceal information. Not only did they try to hide it from the Opposition and the public, they are now trying to conceal it from the Auditor General. It once again demonstrates why we needed a public inquiry into this issue, to ensure there would be no government interference.@
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