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Roger Grimes, Leader of the Official Opposition
and MHA for Exploits District, says government should immediately release
the external audit of the province’s finances and stop hiding the real
results from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. A spokesperson for
Finance Minister Loyola Sullivan confirmed in today’s edition of The
Telegram that only the "interim report" is complete and that will
not be released to the public.
"The people of the province have the right to know the contents of
this report," said Mr. Grimes. "Is government going to take this
interim report and manipulate the numbers to reflect a financial picture
that they believe will help justify their cutbacks? Is this the reason they
refuse to release the report?
"I cannot understand why Mr. Williams’ open and transparent
government is hiding the results of this document. The Conservative party
when they were in Opposition called for the release of government reports as
they are received. Why has this position changed suddenly?
"It is very important that everyone have the opportunity to see the
true results before government communications strategies are developed to
present a skewed picture of the province’s financial situation. If this
process, which is wasteful and unnecessary, is to have any credibility
whatsoever, we must see the results today in its original form, and not
shaped by a government focused on cutbacks to the services and resources
used by all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on a daily basis." |