When you don't like the results of a report on the Socioeconomic effects of Gambling, you simply withhold the report.
Opposition asks NDP to release gambling study
MLAs remind government of its past pleas
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter
The freedom of information officer, Dulcie McCallum, said this week the government should release the document on the socioeconomic effects of gambling.
Opposition MLAs appealed to the Dexter government to release a gambling study Thursday, reminding the NDP of its past attempts to pry information from the government of the day.
The government has refused for more than a year to release work from Alberta consultant Mark Anielski on the socio-economic impacts of gambling. The province’s freedom of information review officer, Dulcie McCallum, said in a decision this week that the government should release the document.
Liberal gaming critic Leo Glavine noted during question period Thursday at Province House that Finance Minister Graham Steele was the lawyer for Dan O’Connor, Premier Darrell Dexter’s chief of staff, and Shawn Fuller, Dexter’s director of communications, in court battles over information requests going back a decade. At the time, the NDP was in opposition, and the Tories were in power.
Glavine said that while in government, the NDP has changed direction.
"We all deserve better than a government which hides opinions and facts it disagrees with. The NDP have ushered in a new era of controlled secrecy and manipulation, a level of which the Harper government would be envious."
New Democrat ministers have said Anielski’s work was flawed and incomplete, while he suspects the study has been kept under wraps because of information on social problems linked to video lottery terminals and casino slot machines. Tory gaming critic Keith Bain said the public should be allowed to see the report and then decide if there was a problem with the methodology.
Labour and Advanced Education Minister Marilyn More, whose department has the draft report, said the government is considering McCallum’s decision. "This government continues to value transparency and accountability, but at the same time, we do not want to be irresponsible," More said.
Glavine said he thinks public pressure could be a factor in getting the government to release the document.
The government has until May 8 to respond to McCallum’s decision. The decision was in response to requests from The Canadian Press and the group GameOverVLTs.com.
If the government refuses to comply, those organizations would have the option of pursuing the issue in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Anielski submitted the draft report in June 2009. He said he was told in December 2009 that his contract had been terminated, a day after sending an invoice.
He was paid $144,000, but the government refused to pay the rest of what he was owed under his $212,000 contract.
Opposition asks NDP to release gambling study
MLAs remind government of its past pleas
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter
The freedom of information officer, Dulcie McCallum, said this week the government should release the document on the socioeconomic effects of gambling.
Opposition MLAs appealed to the Dexter government to release a gambling study Thursday, reminding the NDP of its past attempts to pry information from the government of the day.
The government has refused for more than a year to release work from Alberta consultant Mark Anielski on the socio-economic impacts of gambling. The province’s freedom of information review officer, Dulcie McCallum, said in a decision this week that the government should release the document.
Liberal gaming critic Leo Glavine noted during question period Thursday at Province House that Finance Minister Graham Steele was the lawyer for Dan O’Connor, Premier Darrell Dexter’s chief of staff, and Shawn Fuller, Dexter’s director of communications, in court battles over information requests going back a decade. At the time, the NDP was in opposition, and the Tories were in power.
Glavine said that while in government, the NDP has changed direction.
"We all deserve better than a government which hides opinions and facts it disagrees with. The NDP have ushered in a new era of controlled secrecy and manipulation, a level of which the Harper government would be envious."
New Democrat ministers have said Anielski’s work was flawed and incomplete, while he suspects the study has been kept under wraps because of information on social problems linked to video lottery terminals and casino slot machines. Tory gaming critic Keith Bain said the public should be allowed to see the report and then decide if there was a problem with the methodology.
Labour and Advanced Education Minister Marilyn More, whose department has the draft report, said the government is considering McCallum’s decision. "This government continues to value transparency and accountability, but at the same time, we do not want to be irresponsible," More said.
Glavine said he thinks public pressure could be a factor in getting the government to release the document.
The government has until May 8 to respond to McCallum’s decision. The decision was in response to requests from The Canadian Press and the group GameOverVLTs.com.
If the government refuses to comply, those organizations would have the option of pursuing the issue in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Anielski submitted the draft report in June 2009. He said he was told in December 2009 that his contract had been terminated, a day after sending an invoice.
He was paid $144,000, but the government refused to pay the rest of what he was owed under his $212,000 contract.
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