LIBERAL BILL AIMS FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY WITH GOVERNMENT WRITE-OFFS
Date: Monday September 21, 2009

(Halifax, NS) Liberal finance critic Leo Glavine today tabled a bill
in the House of Assembly to increase accountability when it comes to the
slew of year-end government write-offs.

“In July, the announcement of millions of dollars in bad government
debt left many questions unanswered,” explains Glavine. “Departments
were unable to provide detailed breakdowns of what specifically those
write-offs were. This is taxpayers’ money and frankly, taxpayers
should be able to account for every dollar that is written off.”

Glavine’s amendment to the Provincial Finance Act would see all
government write-offs greater than a thousand dollars reported to the
House of Assembly.

“This is about openness and accountability,” the Liberal finance
critic said. “The NDP promised to bring more transparency to the house
and to government. This amendment is one way to deliver on that
promise.”


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