Crosbie calls out Liberals over lack of spending cap, financial disclosures in leadership race

Opposition leader Ches Crosbie says the premiership of the province is "up for auction," after the Liberals announced the rules of its next leadership race Monday morning.

Nominations are open until March 6, giving prospective candidates 11 days to come up with a $25,000 buy-in fee. There are no rules around disclosing donations, and no cap on how much a candidate can spend on their campaign.

"We'll never know whether favours were purchased and granted because there's no disclosure of the identity of people or entities who are giving money," Crosbie said.

A leader will be picked at the party's convention on May 9 in St. John's.

Liberal party president John Allan said while there's no explicit rule stating candidates must disclose donations, he hopes they will do it anyway.

"We would ask that the candidates consider, at the end of their campaign, when they get their audits done, that they be open and make that available," Allan said.

To Crosbie, the lack of mandatory disclosure is unacceptable.

"In this day and age, if you look at this objectively, the fact that the Liberal party of this province could even contemplate doing this sort of free-for-all is an outrage to the people. In a modern political party, there has to be accountability of leadership election financing. The prize for this, after all, is the premiership of the province."

Race has begun

The provincial Liberals put out the official call for nominations on Monday as the race to replace outgoing Premier Dwight Ball shifts into gear. 

The rules of the race leave only 11 days for interested parties to throw their hats into the ring.

It's a costly shot at the positions too, with candidates having to pay a $25,000 nomination fee. 

They'll also need 50 signatures of support, from from at least 10 provincial districts.

The Liberal leadership convention will follow on May 8-9 in St. John's, ending with the party announcing its next leader.

Ball has said he wanted his replacement in the job sooner rather than later, specifically so they could have a say in the upcoming provincial budget, which is due in April.

For now though, Ball will still be at the helm to table the next budget.  

Recent rumblings out of the House of Assembly have suggested talks have begun to form a coalition government in Newfoundland and Labrador to unseat the governing Liberal Party.

However, both Crosbie and NDP Leader Alison Coffin were quiet about what — if anything — is happening behind the scenes. 

In a statement released Friday in response to rumours of coalition talks, Liberal caucus chair Derrick Bragg said reports that some Liberal MHAs were in on those conversations were false and misleading.

A general election must be called within 12 months of a new Liberal premier being named, under legislation brought in by former PC premier Danny Williams.

Businessman Paul Antle has told CBC News recently he's interested in running. Antle ran a losing effort against Crosbie as a Liberal candidate for the district of Windsor Lake in 2018.

Orthopedic surgeon and philanthropist Andrew Furey has been mentioned as a potential candidate as well. Furey's father, George Furey, is the current Speaker of the Senate.

On Monday morning, John Abbott confirmed to CBC News he's considering entering the race after receiving numerous calls encouraging him to run, and said his family is on board.

Abbott is CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, has worked two stints as deputy minister of health under Williams and Ball and has never run for public office. 

Liberal cabinet ministers Gerry Byrne, Siobhan Coady and Andrew Parsons have said they have no interest in running for the leadership.

Members of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador must register, or re-register, to vote between Feb. 24 and April 4.

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