Ghiz more keen to call witnesses in past: Crane

P.E.I. Opposition leader Olive Crane invoked the voice of her predecessor, now Premier Robert Ghiz, in her efforts to get witnesses before the public accounts committee.

Throughout the fall, Crane has been trying to call witnesses to testify about the immigrant investment section of the provincial nominee program. The program is racked with scandal, with MLAs and senior civil servants accessing it for investment in their companies.

But many of Crane's motions for witnesses have been blocked by the Liberal majority on the committee.

Wednesday in question period, Crane asked each minister in turn if they thought it was a good idea to call witnesses before the public accounts committee. Then she turned to Ghiz.

"Premier, do you support having witnesses at public accounts?"

Huge difference, premier says

Crane went on to quote Ghiz from 2006, when he was leader of the Opposition and seeking to call witnesses to the public accounts committee looking for answers on provincial support for Polar Foods, the largest bankruptcy in Island history.

"Either people want to get work done at this committee or they don't," Crane quoted Ghiz. "What they're trying to do now, Mr. Chairman, is to put in stall tactics so we can't do our job to make sure taxpayers money is protected. There were rules, regulations and laws allowed to be broken."

Ghiz had no quibble with the accuracy of the statements, and said there is a huge difference between what Crane wants, and what he was doing.

"The leader of the Opposition made an interesting point there, Madame Speaker: laws were broken. That was under the Polar Foods investigation," he said.

"I'm happy to say that under our investigation laws have not been broken. And the leader of the Opposition is mixing apples with oranges."

Crane said she's disappointed with Ghiz's answer. When the public accounts starts meeting again in January, she intends to continue to ask to hear from critical witnesses from the PNP file.