One of the potential outcomes of a review into the statutory offices that report to the House of Assembly could be the amalgamation of some offices.
The provincial government announced yesterday a review of six statutory offices of the House of Assembly, to be completed by retired supreme court justice Robert Fowler.
They include the Commissioner for Legislative Standards, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate, the Office of the Citizens’ Representative, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Office of the Seniors’ Advocate.
One of the terms of reference for the review asks for the number of statutory offices to be considered, and whether some could be combined based on common objectives and functions.
John Hogan
Justice Minister John Hogan gives an example of where that could be possible.
He says current legislation states that the Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner for Legislative Standards may be the same person. He states the review will look at whether they should be different people, the same person, or if the status quo should be maintained.
Meanwhile, independent MHA Paul Lane, who first raised concerns about the whistleblower report at Elections NL, says he welcomes the review as he feels there needs to be more clarity in terms of information sharing and reporting to the House.
He also believes this would be a great opportunity to introduce an ethics commissioner and disability advocate.
Jim Dinn
NDP Leader Jim Dinn agrees that any review is always welcome if it’s about improving the functionality of the offices to ensure the best legislation possible. However, from looking at the terms of reference Dinn doesn’t believe that to be the case.
He believes it is more about finding efficiencies and doubling up roles and responsibilities for budgetary purposes.
