(May 18, 2021) – Barry Petten, PC Opposition House Leader, and Helen Conway Ottenheimer, PC Opposition Deputy House Leader and Shadow Minister of Justice, say while the process for making changes to the Elections Act is flawed in its current make up, they’d rather be at the decision making table than sitting on the sidelines.

“We believe it’s better to be a part of this review than to sit on the sidelines. We have issues with the composition of the committee, which Minister Hogan has ignored, but to step away from such a critical review would be a disservice to our constituents,” said Petten.

“There must be an independent investigation of the 2021 General Election. We don’t believe the court process is enough to truly get to the bottom of what went wrong in the election. A thorough, independent investigation will strengthen the legislation brought to the House of Assembly in the end.”

Conway Ottenheimer says she hopes Minister Hogan will work with the PC Caucus on this important issue and not let partisanship taint the process.

“The Liberal majority on the committee means the Liberal government has sway over what is a non-partisan issue. That’s why this committee demands an approach that puts aside partisanship and focuses on the issues,” said Conway Ottenheimer.

“This is about restoring faith in our electoral process. The people of the province need to see this committee do its work in public, with political independence, and with utmost transparency. The PC caucus will do everything we can to restore confidence in our democracy.”
 

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca

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