The Newfoundland and Labrador NDP says it will not be participating in the Elections Act Committee following Justice Minister John Hogan’s refusal to make several changes to its makeup.
NDP opposition house leader Jim Dinn says Hogan’s refusal makes the committee “nothing more than window dressing.”
Two weeks ago, representatives of the NDP, PC Party, and independent house members submitted a list of changes to the committee’s terms of reference to make it more balanced.
At the time, those representatives said the Minister’s reception to the proposal was positive.
However, according to Dinn, Minister Hogan has refused to entertain four of the six requests, which asked that the group include two non-partisan members of the general public, an independent chair, balanced representation with no one political party controlling the agenda, and an independent investigator.
Dinn calls Hogan’s refusal an “arrogant display of force” that puts the will of the party ahead of a proper electoral system.
Dinn says the NDP will submit recommendations to the committee, but will not sit on it until its composition is changed. They’re calling on Hogan and the Premier to change their approach.
Hogan’s Response
Meanwhile, Justice Minister John Hogan is defending his decision to deny some of the opposition’s requests.
Hogan explains that it is commonplace for the makeup of an All-Party Committee to be similar to that of the House of Assembly.
In reference to having an independent chair of the committee, Hogan cites the Premier’s mandate letter in which he is tasked with updating the act.
He says he takes the duty of updating the act very seriously and he is not willing to delegate that responsibility to somebody else as it would not be in line with the Premier’s directions to him.
Hogan also addresses the request to have independent investigative powers under the public inquiries act.
He says this is not a public inquiry and legally some of the things that are being asked are not possible.
Hogan does state, however, that in his letter back to the opposition members he told them that when they start meeting they can discuss how the committee will work and engage with each other.
The most disappointing thing, Hogan believes, is that Dinn had decided to pre-judge the work of the committee before even one meeting.
