As an opposition, we have been reasonable and responsible in our approach in giving the conservative government some time to get themselves established before starting to criticize.

However, there are some fundamental practices which we have to speak out against and say we have serious problems with.

First of all, I would like to point out that the process of paying an external auditor to review the books of the province is nothing more than an expensive public relations exercise. The Conservative Government is trying to manipulate political opinion before they start breaking their campaign promises. This is the oldest game in the book, ...say the previous government left things in such bad shape that you can’t proceed with the promises you made during an election. They have now taken that old roust one step further. They are spending taxpayers dollars to hire an external auditor, in an attempt to add some credibility to their case. This is the kind of manipulative politics which is reminiscent of the Mulroney era in Ottawa.

The truth is, this process is about politics rather than the proper management of the finances of this province.

A number of questions need to be asked about this external audit. For example;

- Before this company was put in place, was this same information requested from the civil service? Did the conservative government enter this process knowing what the results were going to be all along?

- How much did this external audit cost the taxpayers of this province? Why hasn’t all information been released as soon as it was available?

- Also, what kind of message does this send through the civil service? There is no reason, other than politics, to explain why this audit could not be done internally or by the Auditor General who is an independent officer of the House of Assembly.

- Another question which should be asked is; Is this external audit really "independent"? Given the fact that the company doing the audit could be looking to do further business with the Government, does this compromise the "independence" of the audit?

These are just a few questions that should be asked about this external audit and the process the Conservative Government is going through.

Realistically, the fact that we are faced with a challenging financial environment is nothing new in this Province. The real challenge for the Conservative Government is the same as it was for the Liberal Government. Fighting for changes at the federal level such as a fairer equalization program and getting more revenue from our resources. Doing this, while striking the balance between maintaining our financial stability on the one side and meeting the needs of the people of this province on the other. During our years in power, the Liberal Government believed that investing in people was more important than focusing exclusively on balancing the budget. Indications are that the Conservative Government intends to take a different approach. As a Liberal Party and the Liberal caucus in the House of Assembly, we will continue to fight for the balanced approach.

On a personal note, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.