On secrecy

Secrecy is bad. Danny says so.

He said so in the House of Assembly on December 3, 2001:

That is what my platform is all about; no hidden documents, no hidden agenda. That is why our position is so clear on Voisey’s Bay. No secret negotiations, no secret documents. If the people know the country will be safe, and they have a right to know. They need to know the details on major negotiations of a $50 billion resource. They have a right to know. Why should it be kept secret? That is why I said it.

[…]

With regard to negotiations, it is the position of this Opposition that there should not be negotiations in secret, especially on major matters, especially on Voisey’s Bay. I would suggest to hon. members opposite that this is the Voisey’s Bay clause. We know why it was there and it is wrong.

He said so again on March 14, 2002:

This clause hides negotiations. It was not in the old Freedom of Information Act. We are trying to have a more open act, and now what we have, is a more secretive act. That is what we have accomplished, which is sad. The people have a right to know. They have a right to know what the government is negotiating on their behalf.

He said so in a long-since-bitbucketted May 6, 2002 press release, again on the subject of Voisey's Bay:

"The people need to know that the government is about to sign a bad deal. We know from previous experience, such as Churchill Falls, that once a bad deal is signed, it cannot be changed no matter how hard we try. Debating the deal in the House of Assembly before it is finalized will at a minimum fully disclose to the people the benefits this province will receive from the development of a major resource."

And in another one on the 15th of the same month, regarding the impending Voisey's Bay deal:

"The whole point of debating the deal is to ensure it is acceptable and beneficial to the people of the province before they are forever bound by it. If the deal has already been signed, there is no opportunity to make meaningful improvements to ensure our people get maximum benefits from this tremendous resource."

He told the legislature on May 15, 2002:

The people of this Province, Mr. Speaker, are very, very concerned about the details of this agreement and they have a right to know before it is finalized.

My question, Mr. Speaker, for the Premier is: Why would you not bring it before this Legislature and before the people of the Province? If you are about to sign a deal that could possibly be another giveaway of our resources, of our future, of our children and our grandchildren, why would you not bring it before this House if it is going to be such a good deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians? What is the Premier trying to hide, Mr. Speaker?

Speaking of so-called Lower Churchill negotiations, he told the Telegram in October of that year:

"Unfortunately, because (the deal) is being negotiated in secret, we know very little about this deal and therefore are not able to provide constructive thoughts and suggestions as to how it can be improved. It is fundamentally different from the principles agreed to with Quebec in 1998. In fact, this entire arrangement sprang out of nowhere just days after talks between this province and Alcoa fell apart. There has not been a single update provided to the House of Assembly."

On November 18, he said in the legislature:

[Premier Grimes] originally said the deal would be done by the end of September, by the middle of September. We are now into November. Why now? Do you know why now? Because he lost a by-election in July. He has now gotten hammered in another by-election and these are the desperate actions of a desperate man and a desperate government. Once again, we are in the dark. It has all been done in secret. Negotiations are completely in secret. We get a two-page update today on what is going on. That is all he has provided.

Voisey’s Bay all over again. Everything is done in secret. No information provided. I call on the Premier to make all the information available, to have a full debate, but let’s do it before that agreement is signed and let’s have a real shot at it this time around.

And on December 5, 2002, he asked during Question Period:

Mr. Speaker, I ask the Premier: Will you table that deal so that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador can have a look at it? Table that commercial and confidential deal so we can go through it?

In his post-QP scrum, he elaborated on the point:

"You can tell from question period today the premier talked about a commercially confidential deal... We should see it. We need to get an opportunity to go through it. I challenged the premier to a debate. Let's put the deal out on the table. Let's go through it clause by clause before it's signed."

What a difference five years, and sitting at the Speaker's left hand, can make.