Mitchelmore apologizes, will be suspended
Advanced Education, Skills, and Labour Minister Christopher Mitchelmore has apologized to the House of Assembly and will serve a two-week suspension without pay.
The House of Assembly spent its third day debating reports by the commissioner of legislative standards and the citizens' representative into the conduct of Mitchelmore after the reports found him to have “grossly mismanaged” his duties over the hiring of Carla Foote at The Rooms.
Ultimately, all Liberals except Mitchelmore voted to reprimand Mitchelmore, along with Progressive Conservative Pleaman Forsey and New Democrat Jordan Brown.
The rest of the PC and NDP caucus voted against punishment for Mitchelmore. Why? It comes down to amended motions.
On Thursday evening, Opposition House Leader David Brazil brought forth an amendment, seconded by C.B.S. MHA Barry Petten, to the original punishment for Mitchelmore. Originally, the House of Assembly debated a motion to have Mitchelmore stand in his place and apologize to the House.
Brazil’s amendment raised the stakes tenfold.
On top of a written apology to the House and to the former and current board of directors of The Rooms, plus a meeting with Commissioner of Legislative Standards Bruce Chaulk, Mitchelmore would be suspended without pay from the House of Assembly for two weeks during the next sitting and have to pay back his ministerial salary for one year, totalling $48,664. Mitchelmore would still be paid his $95,357 base MHA salary, but would essentially be volunteering as a cabinet minister should the amendment pass.
Shortly after the amendment was brought forward, Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne rose with his own amendment, seconded by Health Minister John Haggie, to have the financial element of the Brazil amendment removed.
Byrne’s concern was with the severity of the penalty and the potential for a precedent being set that could be abused by future governments in similar situations.
NDP MHA Jim Dinn argued he wasn’t worried about setting a precedent by stiffening the penalty, and the precedent he wanted to set was good behaviour.
After some debate, the amendment brought by Byrne passed, with all Liberals supporting it, along with Independent MHA Eddie Joyce.
After that, Brazil’s amendment featuring everything except the $48,664 financial penalty passed, with the support of all Liberals and Joyce.
Once Brazil’s amendment passed, things got confusing.
All Liberals, except Mitchelmore, along with Forsey and Brown, voted for the amended motion to punish Mitchelmore for his conduct, but without the $48,664 penalty. The rest of the opposition members voted against.
Opposition members were unavailable for comment by deadline, but the situation is similar to when it was time to vote for reprimand of former cabinet minister Dale Kirby and Eddie Joyce. Ultimately, the Tories voted against the motion to punish Kirby and Joyce because they felt the punishment was not severe enough. Without a financial penalty for Mitchelmore, and allowing him to remain within the Liberal cabinet, it appears the same situation was true for opposition members — the penalty was not harsh enough.
Mitchelmore offered a verbal apology to the House of Assembly on Thursday night. He will be suspended without pay for two weeks in the spring sitting of the legislature.
The close of debate on the “Mitchelmore Report” marks the end of a raucous fall sitting of the House of Assembly, the first full-length sitting of the minority government in the legislature.
Not only were two days spent debating the fate of Mitchelmore following the tabling of the “Mitchelmore Report,” a previous three days were spent debating the conduct of Gerry Byrne after he alleged that Mount Pearl North MHA Jim Lester endorsed poaching and that Jim Dinn was “marginalizing the voices of Indigenous people.” Byrne later apologized and withdrew both remarks.
Thirteen pieces of legislation were passed in the sitting, including Claire’s Law, the Opioid Damagers and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, and the Demise of the Crown Act.