Minister’s sermon confirms secrecy problems at Nalcor

Natural Resources Minister Kathy Dunderdale’s comments as it relates to Nalcor and how much was spent on Lobbyist fees confirms all of the concerns raised yesterday by the Official Opposition, says Opposition House Leader Kelvin Parsons.

“My concerns about Nalcor spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lobbyists remains the same,” said Mr. Parsons. “Federal-Provincial relations are non-existent which is forcing us to pay this taxpayer money, while we have Department of Intergovernmental Affairs with a budget of $1 million and an Office of the Ottawa Representative that costs $250,000 a year that obviously has a very token role and doing very little to have our message heard within the federal government.

“If Nalcor only spent a mere $300,000 on lobbyists as suggested by the minister this could easily be known if our crown corporation was subject to Access to Information laws, the Auditor General Act or the Public Tender Act. Unfortunately, the only way to get information from Nalcor is through other sources because of the secretive nature by which the provincial government created and runs this corporation.

“If Minister Dunderdale feels that $300,000 is an acceptable figure to pay in lobbyist fees to access the federal government, she again has missed the point. These meetings and consultations should be taking place for free without this huge investment from the taxpayers of the province.

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