Release the former college president from her gag order

Kelvin Parsons, Opposition House Leader and MHA for the District of the Burgeo-Lapoile, is calling on government to release the former President of the College of the North Atlantic, Jean Madill, from the gag order put in place by Cabinet and allow her to discuss the reasons behind her departure. Parsons raised the issue today in the House of Assembly.

Earlier this week, the president of the College of the North Atlantic resigned her position. On the same day, the Minister of Education announced that the province overpaid staff at the college’s Qatar campus by $3.5 million and owed the State of Qatar $1.5 million because of these errors.  Since then there has been confusion as to what precipitated the former president’s resignation.

“The minister’s statements on this issue and Ms. Madill’s e-mail correspondence to her former colleagues at the college are telling two different stories,” said Mr. Parsons. “If government wanted to ensure we were getting the full information, why not lift the gag order? As confirmed by the minister today, Cabinet implemented the gag order and they can lift it if they wish. Why won’t they let Ms. Madill speak?”

Parsons also says there seems to be a double-standard when it comes to the repayment of these monies by the staff of College of the North Atlantic in Qatar. He stated that overpayments to social assistance recipients or monies owing under decades old school tax are collected with interest, but the same moves are not being made in this case.

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