Yesterday in the House of Assembly Roger Grimes, Leader of the Official Opposition, and MHA for Exploits District, questioned Premier Williams on documents recently released to the public, and the misleading information that was presented in this document.   

The Official Opposition continues to prove that the credibility of this government is in question.

The exchange is below.

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Leader of the Opposition.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. GRIMES: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

On May 7, the Official Opposition received a breakdown of budget initiatives and analyses for all forty-eight electoral districts in the Province. Mr. Speaker, I note for the record, this document was not released willingly. It was received only after a request under the provincial Freedom of Information Act, and it indicated some very different messages than what government ministers were telling the people of the Province.

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the Premier himself stated that an error was made by a bureaucrat and that the documents were indeed probably not accurate.

Mr. Speaker, the question for the Premier is this: Does the Premier really expect the people of the Province to believe that after a full month of careful review and deliberation by government officials, that a document full of inaccuracies, which would contravene the Freedom of Information Act, was released publicly, or will he finally stand and acknowledge that he and his ministers actually have gotten caught and been caught misleading the public once again -

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I asked the member now to complete his question.

MR. GRIMES: - and are now in full damage control, using the lame excuse about bureaucrats bungling the process to cover up their growing and ever-increasing credibility deficit?

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. SPEAKER: The hon. the Premier.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, in a truly open and accountable and transparent government, there is never a question of being caught at anything. It is all there for the public to see at any particular point in time.

When I was Leader of the Opposition, and my colleagues know, we did not voluntarily receive documents from this government when they were in government. It was not a matter of course that they passed over all kinds of documents to us. So it is a little two-faced, to say the least, to get on this way in questions.

With regard to the issue in question, yesterday outside the House when I was asked by the media the circumstance surrounding it, I acknowledged that we all make mistakes. All members of the House, on this side of the House and that side of the House, today, tomorrow, the past, the present and the future, we always make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with making an honest mistake. If you make a mistake, you acknowledge it and you move on from there. That is exactly what happened, a mistake was made and we will do everything we can to make sure that, in future, these mistakes won’t happen. There will be mistakes in the future. I will make mistakes, I will make lots of them. I am sure the Leader of the Opposition will acknowledge that he has even made a few in his career over time.

There is nothing devious about this, Mr. Speaker.

MR. SPEAKER: Order, please!

I ask the Premier now to complete his answer.

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It is simply an admission that we all make mistakes and we will continue to do so. We will do our very best to make things open and transparent for the public.