"We have listened to government make excuses for over six weeks as to why they may not honour commitments made during the election," said Mr. Grimes. "Now that they have received the external audit, I call upon Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Williams to release the report. I don’t understand why it could take upwards of two weeks to read this report, when the people of the province were told that it would be released publicly once received. Are they trying to present the numbers in a manner that makes the province’s finances worse than they actually are?

"It is very disappointing that Mr. Williams has decided to use an old political trick and waste taxpayers money by completing an external audit that will cost tens of thousands of dollars. This review could have very easily been completed by the Department of Finance and the Auditor General. Is government afraid that an internal audit will not provide the results they are looking to receive? The governments of British Columbia and Ontario have recently used the same tactic in an effort to reduce the public service and reduce spending. I anticipate that the new government of this province will attempt to do the same thing.

"If the numbers are as bad as government has suggested they could be, why will they not release the report today so that everyone can analyze the numbers at the same time. If Mr. Williams is going to have the most transparent government ever experienced in this province, as he has stated time and time again, I would suggest that he begin by releasing this audit in an open and transparent fashion."