The newly-elected PC government does not plan to open the House of Assembly until the results of the three contested electoral districts are finally known – and that’s not sitting well with the Opposition Liberals.
The MHAs representing 37 of 40 districts were officially sworn-in to the House of Assembly yesterday. The Liberals have requested judicial recounts in the remaining three districts, Lewisporte-Twillingate, Topsail-Paradise and Placentia West-Bellevue.
If the House of Assembly were to open today, the governing PCs would be out-numbered by opposition members.
Opposition Leader John Hogan accuses Premier Tony Wakeham of trying to “hide from scrutiny.”
“That’s a bit ironic, coming from a government who has a history of closing down the House early,” he responded.
“Some legislation could have been dealt with prior to the election if they had to keep the house open even during the last sitting to deal with that. So we’re going to make sure we honour the parliamentary calendar and keep the house open.”
John Hogan surrounded by his Opposition caucus (VOCM News)
Hogan says Wakeham should be held accountable for his promises.
“He’s made a lot of promises during the four week campaign and it’s an opportunity right now as it’s scheduled for the House of Assembly to be open for them to answer questions, important questions right now about where they plan to go on all those promises,” Hogan told the media.
“They had several weeks now to look at what is on the agenda and I can guarantee you that there are pieces of legislation that they would support and they could bring forward in the House of Assembly right now.”
