The Opposition House Leader for the New Democrats is classifying some of the reasoning Justice Minister John Hogan has given for not making changes to the makeup of the Elections Act Committee as “weak” and “lame.”
Yesterday, it was revealed that Minister Hogan will not be moving forward with some of the changes that were recommended by opposition groups in the House of Assembly.
Hogan cited his mandate letter from the premier and legal barriers as some of the reasons for his decision.
Jim Dinn of the NDP believes those decisions go against what the Liberals are saying they wish to accomplish. He references the premier saying the province needs to starting thinking outside the box.
The NDP will not be sitting on the committee as a result of the recommendations not being accepted, with Dinn believing that “the fix is in” and there is no real commitment to changing the act from the current government.
Minister Hogan says he’s disappointed that the NDP won’t be involved but says they will be reaching out to people in NDP districts to see if they want to participate in the public consultations.
(Photo: Helen Conway Ottenheimer Facebook)
Meanwhile, the PC Party will still be participating in the committee.
PC Critic for Justice, Helen Conway Ottenheimer, says even though the process is “flawed” they’d rather be at the table than on the sidelines. She believes that although the minister has “ignored” the issues brought to the committee, stepping away from it would be a “disservice” to voters.
Ottenheimer doubles down on the assertion that an independent investigation of the election must take place, and that current court processes underway won’t do that.
She hopes Minister Hogan will work with the PC Party on the issues and not let partisanship affect the decisions being made.
