New Premier: Faithfully serving whom?

When taking the oath of allegiance, the Premier swears that he “will faithfully serve [His] Majesty.” There is no mention of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador except as a driving force behind potential “intestine insurrections” from which the Premier commits himself to defend the Province.

The oath is a ritual, like the performance of the Ode to Newfoundland at Memorial University’s convocations. However, paying close attention to the wording of the Premier’s oath gives very practical insights.

Ultimate authority

It is natural for the governor of a dominion to swear allegiance to the sovereign. In a democracy, more clarity about whom the new Premier will serve is required.

Queen Elizabeth II’s visits to Newfoundland and Labrador were too rare to become a source of direction. Her last visit occurred almost thirty years ago, in 1997. King Charles III didn’t visit the Province in his current capacity, although he was in St. John’s prior to ascending to the Throne three years ago.

The 172-word oath twice mentions the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. This role is supposed to be “non-partisan and apolitical.” The current Lieutenant Governor’s political career is inseparable from the Liberal Party. Furthermore, the Lieutenant Governor plays a ceremonial role. She signs decisions prepared by the Cabinet instead of giving directions to the Government.

The Premier has significant leeway in deciding whom to serve in those circumstances. Much depends on who is elected to this role by May 3, John Abbott or John Hogan.

Official of ideas

Mr. Abbott presents himself as a man of ideas. “I’ve been commended and complimented for having policy ideas,” he said after the leadership debate on April 23. Having policy ideas sounds unusual for someone who spent his entire professional life as a civil servant. Mr. Abbott’s career in civil service spans over 36 plus years.

Bureaucracy is associated with working by the rules and self-sufficiency. Knowledge of the rules and procedures constitutes the official’s greatest asset, not initiative. The bureaucrat views the public as a source of disturbance since members of the public presumably don’t know the rules. In the bureaucrat’s view, the less the public interferes with his operation, the better the bureaucracy functions as a well-oiled machine.

Mr. Abbott has not always been a good officeholder by those standards. In 2007, he resigned as deputy minister of health after omitting to share a briefing note prepared for the then Premier Danny Williams with his immediate supervisor, the then health minister Tom Osborne.

Mr. Abbott returned to the same position in 2016 having the unusual – by bureaucratic standards – mandate to change the system and increase the effectiveness of health services provision. Bureaucrats normally don’t rewrite the rules. It is the politician’s job. Many issues Mr. Abbott attempted to address during his second tenure as deputy minister of health remain outstanding, including the failure to meet the ever growing demand for primary care services.

If elected the Premier, Mr. Abbott will likely serve first and foremost ideas of how to improve limited aspects of the Government’s operation. The source of those ideas is yet to be revealed.

Shadow counsel

Like Mr. Abbott, Mr. Hogan is not a career politician. He represents the other strand of bureaucracy, legal. He mentioned his role as Attorney General twice during the leadership debate. Mr. Hogan’s appreciation of the Attorney General role is so great that he chose not to relinquish the relevant duty even after entering the leadership race.

Mr. Hogan positions himself as an accomplished lawyer. A rather mixed picture emerges from a review of few court decisions mentioning him as a lawyer. In 2008, he unsuccessfully represented a company from Québec in a business dispute with a local cargo ship company. In 2012, he won a case on behalf of a bank against three self-represented litigants, two of whom did not appear. In 2022, the Court set aside a decision by the then Minister of Municipal Affairs and Environment, Andrew Parsons, made after hearing from Mr. Hogan as an independent reviewer. Mr. Hogan’s report was found to contain four consequential errors.

Mr. Hogan emphasized that his experience as a lawyer taught him to “listen to both sides” before making any important decision. “Listening to both sides” is what the Court is expected to do, not lawyers.

Although Mr. Hogan did not serve on the bench, he participated in judicial appointments. He chose a lawyer from “the largest firm in Atlantic Canada,” as the outgoing Premier introduced it to the House of Assembly, to represent him on the Federal Judicial Advisory Committee for Newfoundland and Labrador. The Government engaged the same law firm to work on the Churchill Falls deal before the January extraordinary sitting and avoided mentioning it after that. The Committee has been recently dissolved by the federal government.

A lawyer’s job is to provide legal services to the client, not to “listen to both sides.” Since Mr. Hogan intends to apply legal profession standards if he is elected the Premier, then the key question is who will be his client.

The situation with the Churchill Falls deal gives some clues. Mr. Hogan clearly stated the intention to make the deal his highest priority.

How beneficial the contemplated deal could be to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador remains debatable. No money has been shown to them so far.

In the meantime, Mr. Hogan’s fellow lawyers already saw the real money. The January extraordinary sitting led to the establishment of the Independent Churchill Falls Negotiation Oversight Panel. By March 5, the Government paid $173,855.25 for “professional services rendered” by the Panel members.

They did not produce a single deliverable, however. The Panel tabled its first quarterly report on March 10. The document contains no analysis of the purported Memorandum of Understanding. It simply outlines the purpose and mandate of the Panel. The Government will likely pay another 6-digit amount for restating the mandate it gave to the Panel.

If elected the Premier, Mr. Hogan is going to serve the legal community, or to be more precise, a part of it close to the Government and him personally. This may be appealing to the Liberal Party of NL, since many lawyers sit on its governing bodies, but hardly the people in other lines of work.

Difficult choice

Registered members of the Liberal Party of NL face a difficult choice. They select between two officeholders, but of different kinds. One is an adept of the “change from within bureaucracy” thinking. The other is an advocate and servant of legal professionals and their vested interest in the Churchill Falls deal.

The choice would be a bit easier if one contender had a smiling face, like the outgoing Premier. He did the job of smiling and attending the Eras Tour on behalf of the Government, thus creating the appearance of its human face.

Neither candidate smiled during the debate, attempting to play the role of a “prince charming” that has become popular recently among the Liberal Party’s leaders. Both had stone faces. Mr. Hogan showed no emotion even when talking about his two young daughters.

The choice would be a lot easier if at least one candidate stated his intention to serve the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Both intend to “govern” instead. Taking those who are “governed” out of the equation sometimes resulted in “intestine insurrections” in Newfoundland’s past. Therefore, the oath of allegiance mentions “intestine insurrections” for a reason.

Oath of allegiance

I, John ______ do swear that I will faith and true allegiance bear unto His Most Gracious Majesty, King Charles the Third, and to His Heirs and Successors. I will be true and faithful to Her Honour, the Honourable Joan Marie Aylward, as She is commissioned and appointed Lieutenant Governor over the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. I will, in the place and office of His Majesty’s Councillor of the Province, well, and faithfully serve His said Majesty and promote the good of His Majesty’s affairs with my best advice and counsel. I will, with my best ability, defend this Province from all foreign invasions and intestine insurrections. I will not countenance or conceal any plot or seditious speeches against His said Majesty, and His Heirs and Successors, but I will give speedy notice, thereof, unto Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor, or to some member of Her Council. The secret debates of the Council I will not reveal directly or indirectly. All of which I will perform, to the utmost of my ability.