Furey government making too many decisions in secret, say PCs
Closed-door decisions makes public 'skeptical', says David Brazil
Opposition politicians say the Newfoundland and Labrador government is making important decisions in secret — including quietly creating a new committee headed by Brendan Paddick, a friend of Premier Andrew Furey.
Interim PC Leader David Brazil spoke with reporters Wednesday following a report from allNewfoundlandLabrador that said the Furey government is taking as long as half a year to share some of its decisions online.
Brazil focused specifically on part of the allNewfoundlandLabrador report that looked at the creation of the Churchill River energy analysis team, a committee separate from the province's 2041 committee for the Upper Churchill, and one that isn't mentioned on the provincial government's website.
That committee is chaired by Paddick, a close advisor to the premier, and a fellow founder — along with Furey — of the Dollar A Day Foundation. Paddick, a former board chair of Nalcor Energy, was picked by Furey to lead the province's rate-mitigation team.
Brazil said he's OK with Paddick heading the committee if he is a qualified candidate but he sees the committee as an instance of Furey giving a personal friend an opportunity behind closed doors.
He wants the provincial government to be more open about Paddick's role, to make sure there isn't a conflict of interest.
"We ask dozens of questions in [the House of Assembly] about discussions that were happening or rumours that we were hearing were happening, and got shut down," Brazil said Wednesday. "Why would you not be transparent? It's the people's asset here. Have an open discussion."
Brazil said Paddick's appointment is the latest in a series of decisions government has made to keep information out of the public eye.
In particular, he pointed to the Rothschild report — a rundown of how much the province's assets are worth that government won't share with the public — and the dismissal of Stephen Clark, the former head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Health Information who was let go in February without public knowledge. The government wouldn't say whether his dismissal was the result of a massive cyberattack during which hackers stole private information and shut down most of the province's health-care systems.
Sources tell CBC News that Stephen Clark, the head of the NL Centre for Health Information has been removed. Staff were told at a meeting this week<br>The department of health says it won't comment because it's a personnel mater. It won't even say who's now heading NLCHI
—@PeterCBCBrazil also said the provincial government secretly created a committee on cybersecurity last year after the attack.
"When decisions are being made that will have an impact on the future of this province, the people of this province should know what's happening," Brazil said.
"Doing it behind closed doors makes you skeptical that there's more to what's happening than meets the eye, and we've found that in a number of things."
Labrador West MHA Jordan Brown called on the premier to be honest when it comes to the development of energy projects in Labrador.
"The premier must be honest about his intentions … and when he's putting his buddies in positions of influence that will impact our future," Brown said in a press release Wednesday.
In a statement, Furey said Brazil was aware of the cabinet decisions because of his government's openness, and he defended Paddick's position on the panel.
"The people of Newfoundland and Labrador benefited greatly from the work of Mr. Paddick and the rate mitigation team as it delivered a $5.2-billion deal for our province that ensured power rates would not double due to Muskrat Falls," Furey said.
With files from Peter Cowan