(February 22, 2021) – PC Leader Ches Crosbie is demanding that Andrew Furey release the complete and unedited interim report of Premier’s Economic Recovery Team (PERT), headed by Moya Greene, as soon as it is submitted to the Premier, on or before – but not later than – Sunday, February 28, 2021.

“It was outrageous that Mr. Furey tried to get the election over and done with two weeks before the Greene interim report was submitted, but now that the election date has been pushed out, the people of the province are demanding to see what the Premier’s chief advisor is recommending in the way of cuts and restructuring,” said Crosbie.

The PERT’s Terms of Reference, announced by Furey on October 22, 2020, state that the PERT “is tasked with developing a plan of action that will respond to the Province’s immediate fiscal challenges and plot a new course forward.” Further: “The Premier’s Economic Recovery Team (PERT) will provide an interim report to Government by February 28, 2021”. [emphasis added]

The Liberal red book states on page 19: “An interim report to the Provincial Government will be provided by February 28, 2021 with a final report due by April 30, 2021. A Furey Government will conduct broad consultations with stakeholders and the general public on the recommendations, which will be made public and tabled in the House of Assembly upon receipt, and take meaningful steps to address the Province’s fiscal situation and ensure a prosperous future.” [emphasis added]

Crosbie said, “Even if the Liberal red book didn’t promise that the report will be made public ‘upon receipt’ – which it clearly does – Mr. Furey has a moral obligation to let voters see immediately what advice he is receiving from the chief advisor he appointed to guide him.”

“If he fails to disclose this report in its entirely as soon as he receives it by Sunday, people can only conclude he is more interested in hiding an unpleasant agenda than being honest with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” said Crosbie.

Crosbie said this is a direct contradiction of the promise Furey made the day he was sworn in as Premier, when he said: “You will know exactly what the hard decisions are, and how they will impact our province, and why we are making them.”

“Mr. Furey already knows what’s coming in the interim Greene report, because the Terms of Reference directly obligated Ms. Greene to report to the Premier every week since she started,” said Crosbie.

The Terms of Reference states: “The Chairperson will communicate with the Premier and Clerk of the Executive Council on a weekly basis. This will be an update on progress and to discuss the work of the PERT.”

“That means Mr. Furey has already had approximately 17 updates from Ms. Greene. If the Premier and the Clerk of the Executive Council didn’t demonstrate due diligence by taking notes on what they heard – which is hard to believe – at least they should have committed it to memory. He knows exactly what’s coming in the report. He’s left voters in the dark instead of being open and transparent about what he knows is coming.”

Crosbie said while Furey has been pretending the Greene Report will not direct his actions and that she is not the Premier, he knew her record of cuts when he hired her.

While it was Ms. Greene who said services like rural hospitals are on her radar and “sometimes you have such great need that you must do things that are very difficult,” it was Furey himself who said: “It would be irresponsible for me as Premier to say that we're taking things off the table” and “We all know the toughest decisions lie ahead.”

Crosbie said, “Mr. Furey is hiding the axe that he and Ms. Greene have been conspiring to level on public services and communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. He has an obligation to tell voters in rural communities and urban neighbourhoods what the cuts he’s planning would mean for them.”

Crosbie said, “While Andrew Furey seems to believe – against the evidence – that a province can cut its way to growth when such an approach has never worked, the PC plan is to use what we already have to grow our way out of crisis by getting people working and our economy running at full steam. This is a debate we need to be having in this election, but Mr. Furey has spent months hiding his true agenda from voters, clearly hoping to hoodwink his way to a mandate that will let him unveil his true plans once the roadblocks to implementing them are out of his way. And that’s not democratic leadership.”
 

Contacts:
David Maher
Director of Communications
(p) (709) 769-2216