Premier Andrew Furey met with media this morning to discuss issues not specific to COVID-19.
More than a half dozen reporters were given about 30 minutes to ask questions ranging from the legitimacy of the election to the contentious Greene report.
On the latter, the Premier said he last spoke with Moya Greene around Christmas but they did not discuss the report. He says he’s only been told Greene’s team is working hard to meet Sunday’s deadline to submit their interim report.
As for the election, Furey says he believes it will be fair and democratic, noting he was assured by Elections NL boss Bruce Chaulk that the province could pull off the vote during a pandemic, adding to his knowledge the Liberal party has not retained legal counsel to challenge any aspects of the outcome.
The Premier also still firmly believes it was good judgment and the right call to hold the election now rather than wait till the summer or fall when more vaccine doses will be available and more people will have been inoculated.
He said the province can also continue in caretaker mode until a winner is declared, and that special warrants to keep the government funding are being considered if there are delays beyond the end of the fiscal year, March 31.
Crosbie Accuses Furey of Misleading Comments Regarding Greene Report
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Meanwhile, PC Leader Ches Crosbie says Premier Andrew Furey is misleading the public regarding Moya Greene’s report on how best to revive the province’s economy.
The interim report is due Sunday but Furey says he’s had no communication with Greene since Christmas and does not know if it’s on schedule.
Crosbie says that flies in the face of the terms of reference, which states that the premier and clerk of the executive council will communicate with Greene on a weekly basis.
He says Moya Greene does not miss deadlines, so if the report is not delivered on time Sunday, and not released to the public, there’s reason to question whether “dirty tricks” are at play.
Crosbie also criticized Furey for placing all responsibility for the election on chief electoral officer Bruce Chaulk, noting it was the premier’s decision to call it in the first place.
NPD Expresses Importance of Report
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NDP Leader Alison Coffin echoes similar concerns about the Green Report.
She says she’s surprised to hear of the little communication between the Premier and Moya Green, given that it is in her mandate to meet with him weekly. She says that given the “gravity of the situation and the importance of the report” that they would have spoken more frequently.
Furey has said that he doesn’t know if the report will be presented to him by the deadline of this Sunday, but he will release it when that does happen.
When asked about those comments, Coffin says she certainly does hope it is released.
According to Coffin, given that the report has been touted as the “be-all end-all of our economic recovery” she would have thought the premier would be more excited about its delivery. She believes the report will be very telling.
