Grading promises
Opposition delivers its report card on MacLauchlan government
To mark Premier Wade MacLauchlan’s two-year election anniversary, Opposition MLAs delivered their report card on the premier’s election promises on Thursday in the legislature. Georgetown-St. Peters MLA Steven Myers gave MacLauchlan a failing grade in a number of areas, noting broken commitments by the premier for an elected school board and a smaller sized cabinet. Myers also says MacLauchlan has failed to deliver on a promise to provide accountability and consequences for wrongdoing identified by the auditor general involving the province’s e-gaming scandal.
“You stood in the way. You allowed emails to be deleted. You didn’t make anybody accountable for anything. I’m going to give you an ‘F’ on that one,” Myers said. Souris-Elmira MLA Colin LaVie raised concerns about the premier staying in fourand five-star hotels while travelling the world and about offering a dinner at his home as an auction item for the Watermark Theatre for a second consecutive year. But with each question posed to him, MacLauchlan used the opportunity to deliver his own report card on his government’s achievements, highlighting positive indicators in the economy and new initiatives he has adopted in an effort to improve the province.
He also tabled figures to show his travel expenses are below those of former premiers Robert Ghiz and Pat Binns.
“My practice is to be frugal in everything that we’re doing through our office and in government, and I’m prepared to stand by that and to show that we got results to show to the people of Prince Edward Island for the investments and the expenses that we are undertaking.”
LaVie remained unconvinced.
“This is a premier that promised to be different. And, premier, come to the east end of the Island, I’ll show you people who can’t afford a 27hour plane trip, can’t afford to put food on the table,” he said. “The people of Prince Edward Island know the premier promised to be different. He’s not different. Just look at the polls, the polls will show you’re not different.”