(April 19, 2021) – PC Opposition Leader David Brazil says the 2021 Newfoundland and Labrador general election deserves an external, independent review – not a review controlled by the Furey Liberals.

The PC Official Opposition will today introduce a private member’s resolution, to be debated on Wednesday, calling for the re-establishment of the All Party Committee on Democratic Reform, which would oversee an external, independent review of the 2021 election.

“Premier Furey seems to believe letting his Justice Minister conduct a review of the election is good enough for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. That could not be farther from the truth,” said Brazil.

“By bringing back the All Party Committee on Democratic Reform and tasking it with an independent, external review of the election, we can make real progress and get real change to ensure the fiasco of the 2021 election never happens again.”

Moreover, Brazil says Chief Electoral Officer Bruce Chaulk should be removed from his position pending the outcome of the review.

“Mr. Chaulk should not have a say over what is or is not passed over to the committee during the review of the election. His conduct is subject of the review, so we suggest he be suspended from his position until the review is complete.

Brazil says bringing back the committee would enable broader questions to be asked and answered about the state of Newfoundland and Labrador’s democracy.

“The previous committee perished with the call of the 2021 election, but had real questions before it. How do we finance our elections? How can we improve access to the ballots?” said Brazil.

“This committee has a chance to fix our Elections Act and ensure access to democracy is increased, not weakened, like it was during Andrew Furey’s disastrous election.”
 

Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Communications

(p) (709) 769-2216

-30-