Yahoo Movies PCs needle Liberals over help from federal staff members during provincial election campaign
The provincial Liberals came under fire on Tuesday over an incident that happened during the winter general election.
As first reported by The Globe and Mail over the weekend, two staff members in Seamus O'Regan's federal office in Ottawa — Geordie Summers-Lubar and Ian Cameron — travelled to St. John's in February to support the federal natural resources minister on business and virtual public events.
While in the city, Summers-Lubar and Cameron went door knocking in support of a provincial Liberal candidate in the election.
During question period on Tuesday, provincial PC Leader David Brazil asked when Premier Andrew Furey first became aware of federal staffers campaigning for his party.
Furey said he only became aware after learning about The Globe and Mail article.
"What individual staff members do, that don't work for me or for this government, is none of my business," Furey said.
"Frankly they were here, as I understand it, working for Minister O'Regan and on a weekend volunteered on an election campaign. The headline might as well read 'staffers go for a run on a weekend.' I didn't have any knowledge of it."
Brazil showed scepticism of Furey's response, and asked if the premier thought that making phone calls and knocking on doors was an essential service.
Furey said the election was run under public health guidelines and making phone calls was COVID friendly.
Brazil asked how the staff members could get travel exemptions during the pandemic for non-essential entry into the province.
"These election workers were allowed into Newfoundland and Labrador to get the Liberals elected, simple as that," Brazil said.
"I ask the premier, what do you say to families who had to miss funerals of loved ones? Is their election campaign more important than these loved ones' needs?"
Furey responded, saying he didn't look at their applications to come into the province, adding it would be wrong for him to do so. He said he has no insight on who gets to come into the province and those decision are made by public health.
The Globe and Mail reported O'Regan's office confirmed that both staff members helped campaign on a Saturday afternoon during a day off and acted as friends of the Liberal candidate.
Brazil asked Furey who the staff members were campaigning for.
Furey said he couldn't answer because he wasn't campaigning with them.
Brazil then turned his attention to Justice Minister John Hogan. He asked when Hogan learned that the federal staffers were campaigning for him. But Hogan didn't bite, he just thanked Brazil for looking at his campaign photos online, and said his volunteers followed all health protocols.
Meanwhile, O'Regan told reporters he didn't think it was unethical.
"I think it's unethical to tell them what to do on their free time," he said.
