Any member elected before the last general election in November of 2003 must be booted out this October or they will not learn a lesson from this costly and despicable year of scandal.
Maybe that's the best way to put it. It is a Department which has budgetary authority over the Office of the Auditor General - Office of the Child and Youth Advocate - Office of the Citizens Representative - Office of the Chief Electoral Officer - the Speaker's Office - and MHA affairs and finance.
The Department of the House of Assembly has a Minister of sorts - it is the IEC (Internal Economy Commission).
First of all it is important to note that these offices are and should be independent of Government and Cabinet and as non-partisan as possible. It would not be acceptable for a Premier or Cabinet to dictate to either of these offices - for the loss of that independence could further damage the integrity of our democratic system.
As a result the budgets of these agencies are managed by a group of MHA's representing 2 parties of the HOA. In this way no government or Premier can bully or interfere with the integrity of these essential democratic institutions.
The leaders of the Liberals and Tories designate their reps on the IEC with the Speaker and Deputy Speaker traditionally appointed.
We hear from the MHA's who are not participants in the IEC - that they relied on their colleagues to do right by them and guide them appropriately. They only do what the IEC says they can. Alright - I ask the readers this question - if the IEC decided that MHA's should take a cut in pay of 20% or reduce pension and health benefits - do you think the MHA's might have questioned that? You bet.
Currently on the IEC the Speakers Office is represented by the Speaker who is the Chair and represents the non-partisan rep - and the Deputy Speaker, the MHA's are represented by their colleagues presumably chosen by them or their leader. I hope that Chief Justice Greene recommends that these other agencies have a rotating seat on the IEC.
Upon hearing today that they found the extra bucks to give themselves the $2875 bonus because the Office of the Auditor General had not spent all of its budget. Elizabeth Marshall - one of the PC reps on the IEC at the time was in Cabinet and is the immediate past AG for the province. There is absolutely no excuse for her to keep quiet on this disgusting grab of taxpayer dollars - apparently managed wisely by the current AG.
There is no excuse for this and all members elected prior to the last general election should be booted out.
2 comments:
You clearly don't know anything about how our democracy works.
The House is not a department of government. It is the place where our elected representatives are supposed to hold government accountable to us.
Your idea here is just like Danny's attitude. The House is just a department of government that should be reporting to him.
Way to go Sue!
It was clearly used as an analogy - with emphasis placed on the independence on non-partisan purpose of the House and other agencies.
Your comment shows your clear lack of knowledge.
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