Cathy Bennett fails 1st Transparency Test

The Liberal leadership has brought a barrage of commitments from all candidates regarding openness, transparency, and accountability. This is a great thing.

The candidate who has been on the firing line the most on this issue is Cathy Bennett. Rightly - other Liberal hopefuls have suggested her work as the Chair of Nalcor was wrought with secrecy and during a time when government was shutting information doors.

Ms. Bennett says she was opposed to Bill 29 and determined to open the information lines to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

She was tested the other night and failed.

The debate at Memorial University was public. The exchanges were heated. Leadership was on the line.

We know that Cathy Bennett said something to Danny Dumaresque immediately following the debate.

We know that Cathy Bennett apologized to Danny Dumaresque for the comment.

Considering this was a public forum being held as part of a process to choose a leader of the Liberals; who may well go on to be Premier - we should know what Cathy Bennett said to Danny Dumaresque.

The comment may have been made at the heat of the moment - but we can anticipate that a Premier of a Province may have many such moments when dealing with Ottawa, provincial colleagues, executives of companies, union representatives, or citizens. We need to know what happens to Cathy Bennett when she is challenged. We need to know how she conducts herself in these circumstances.

The fact that Cathy Bennett will not tell us - means her transparency will be based on what she thinks we have a right or need to know. That's exactly what we have now.

Cathy Bennett has failed her first transparency test.

Sample of Nalcor Transparency - Be very Afraid!

The following is a copy of email correspondence between Nalcor and I over the past 2 weeks.

If this is a sample of transparency - we are in real trouble. I am a shareholder of Nalcor and so are you. It is our company - it does not belong solely to Ed Martin, Kathy Dunderdale, Jerome Kennedy, Danny Williams, or Dean MacDonald.

Please notice how basic the request is and how long the response is taking.

June 08-2012 Sent to info@nalcorenergy.com

Please advise where I may find a copy of the bylaws outlining the responsibilities of the Board of Directors.

Thank you,

Sue Kelland-Dyer


June 08-2012 Sent from NalcorAdministrator@nalcorenergy.com

Thank you for your enquiry to Nalcor Energy. Questions and general
enquiries will be responded to within five business days.

Job enquires and applications will be forwarded to the Human Resources
department.  Please visit nalcorenergy.com/careers, where you can find
current opportunities, submit a general application and sign up for job
notifications.

Visit HydroSafety.ca for tips and videos that will help keep you and your
families safe.

June 18 - 2012 Sent to info@nalcorenergy.com

Please advise what the status of this request is.
Thank you,

Sue Kelland-Dyer

Dunderdale NOT a Leader - Just Facilitating a Plan

Last week we seen the end of a record setting filibuster in the House of Assembly.

The debate was cut short by the PC's in the house through closure.

Bill 29 an Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was and is a very controversial piece of House business. The crux of the concern is the reduction of access to information.

The Newfoundland and Labrador electorate is still suffering trust issues from the constituency allowance spending scandal - which ultimately sent 4 former MHA's to jail. One of the convicted was Ed Byrne - a PC MHA who became a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Premier under the Danny Williams administration.

In large part - the entire criminal fiasco was caused by not allowing the Auditor General to review the expenditures of the MHA's. The concept of maximized transparency and access to information was touted by Danny Williams as a hallmark of his government - of which current Premier Kathy Dunderdale served in Cabinet and as the Deputy Premier.

Any changes to law which would diminish - in any way - transparency and access should concern Kathy Dunderdale a great deal. It - however - did not phase her - apparently it did not even interest her.

Instead of being a leader by explaining to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador why her government wants to change the access to information law - she ran away. Dunderdale was here:

The Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will be the keynote speaker at the sixth annual Memorial University Calgary Affinity Dinner tomorrow (Wednesday, June 13) at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary. The dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. MDT, with the Premier scheduled to speak at approximately 8:30 p.m.

The theme of the keynote address is Bold and Tenacious: Driving Growth and Prosperity in the New Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Oh I can hear the tapping of partisan twitter characters already. They will suggest that this event was planned for some time and it is an important piece of business for our province.

Let's say we accept this rationale completely.

No problem, the Bill did not have to be called until the Premier returned. Or in the alternate - the debate did not have to be shut down until the Premier returned.

When so many people and media in the province were calling foul on this Bill - Kathy had a choice - she chose to run away. Do you really think she will take any responsibility for soaring power rates and massive debt if the Emera deal proceeds?

Dunderdale is not a leader - she is simply facilitating a plan.

Williams/Dunderdale Government shows Transparency in Policy

Below is the question found on the VOCM website today.

Do you think the province was right in contracting out the Labrador ferry service to two companies from the mainland? Why or why not?

Now let's examine this:

TOBACCO LAWSUIT = NO TENDER = PREMIER WILLIAMS FORMER LAW FIRM

FERRY SERVICES LABRADOR = TENDER = NO PARTISAN PREFERRED OPTION

   

FIBRE OPTIC CONTRACT = NO TENDER = PREMIER WILLIAMS FORMER BUSINESS PARTNER





 THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY TRANSPARENT POLICY TO ME!