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Paul Reynolds breaking the law by filling Commissioner of Members Interests role June 4, 2007 Opposition Leader Gerry Reid says Paul Reynolds is breaking the law by filling the role of Commissioner of Members Interests before he is appointed by the House of Assembly. Reid tabled a letter in the legislature which confirms that Mr. Reynolds is sending out correspondence in that capacity. Paul Reynolds has been serving as the Commissioner of Members Interests without any legal authority for the past several weeks. Under the House of Assembly Act, there is no provision that allows Mr. Reynolds to serve in this position until the appointment is passed in the legislature. In the House of Assembly today, Government House Leader Tom Rideout confirmed that Mr. Reynolds has no authority to be in this position. Instead of reprimanding Mr. Reynolds for these actions, government has instead invoked closure on the debate of this appointment. Closure is a heavy-handed tactic used by governments to end debate on a piece of legislation or motion to ensure criticism is silenced in the shortest amount of time possible. "I have already raised concerns that the appointment of Paul Reynolds to the position of Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner of Members Interests is blatant political patronage, a reward for a long-time Tory supporter, and an insult to the principles of democracy," said Mr. Reid. "Today, I have even more reason to oppose this appointment as Mr. Reynolds has decided to proclaim himself Commissioner of Members Interests against governing legislation. "Instead of addressing this issue, government decided bring in closure on this motion which will cease debate on this appointment. The Chief Electoral Officer’s position is supposed to be the most democratic position in our province, yet government feels it must ram this appointment through the House of Assembly without a full and proper debate. This is truly unfortunate and undemocratic, but typical of this government. "If this government wanted to do the right thing, they should allow a full debate to take place on the appointment of Mr. Reynolds. Instead of trying to correct Mr. Reynolds mistakes after the fact by forcing his appointment through the legislature, government should reprimand him for his actions. Better yet, he should not be appointed to this position."
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