HR Policy (I)

Mr. T. Marshall accuses Darlene Neville, 2009:

MR. T. MARSHALL: In her ninety-two page submission, Ms Neville repeatedly acknowledges the existence of a poisoned work environment at the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate; however, she accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the problem. Rather, her submission is replete with examples of the alleged failings of others. Nowhere does Ms Neville acknowledge that her own conduct may have been lacking in any respect at any time.

Mr. Speaker, human resource issues are complex, yet Ms Neville is the one in charge of that office. For her to adopt the position that the poisoned atmosphere - to use her own words - is everyone else’s fault but not hers is completely untenable. According to Ms Neville then, it is the entire regiment that is out of step and not her.

[...]

Mr. Speaker, the hallmark of good leadership is the acceptance of responsibility. Regrettably, Ms Neville’s failed staff relations is most publicly apparent in her press release dated August 7, 2009 in which she is critical of ‘certain staff’ for not initiating the Labrador investigation. Rather than taking responsibility for the conduct of her office, Ms Neville chose to hide behind and publicly criticize those who work for her. Unfortunately, in her written submission, Ms Neville has offered no recognition of the impropriety of publicly criticizing OCYA staff, particularly regarding the Labrador fire referral. This, Mr. Speaker, is not leadership.

Danny Williams exonerates John Hickey, 2007:

"We had in the House of Assembly a system and individuals that on one hand assured members and their assistants that compliance and accuracy checks were being carried out to protect them, but in reality it was not happening," said the Premier. "I have heard several instances of MHAs telling the same story; the individual in charge of the book keeping at the House of Assembly gave absolute assurances that any mistakes or errors would be identified and corrected. Indeed, the note prepared for me which I am releasing today states very clearly that ‘The role of the Administrative group within the House of Assembly in regard to MHA expense claims is to review MHA claims and certify that they are accurate and compliant with the rules as specified by the IEC.’ Unfortunately, the systems and controls to allow this happen were not in place."

John Hickey exonerates John Hickey (Canadian Press, February 10, 2007)

Hickey, who was notified Wednesday that the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary concluded their investigation into his spending, acknowledged that his office had made mistakes when compiling his constituency allowance expenses.

He has repaid the money to the legislature, but also maintains that he was a victim of poor spending controls within the house of assembly.

"The police have gone through this, they've gone through the auditor general's report and they have basically concluded after interviews, after investigations, that there was no wrongdoing," he said.

"Yes, there were mistakes made, and we fully recognize that, there was mistakes made in my office. I fully respect that and understand that. There were also mistakes made in the House of Assembly."