Here’s what Premier Kathy Dunderdale said on March 6 about possible job cuts in the provincial public sector (emphasis added in all):
Mr. Speaker, we have not talked about cuts….Front-line health and education services will be exempted.
Here’s what education minister Clyde Jackman said on March 29:
I spoke at an NLTA meeting a little while ago; I said to them, we are looking at our budgets across departments, but the Premier said there will be no frontline cuts.
And then there’s what health minister Susan Sullivan said on May 28, the day before Eastern health’s planned announcement:
Mr. Speaker, our resolve has not changed. There will not be any cuts in programs and services. The announcement that you will hear tomorrow will lay out some particular initiatives that Eastern Health wishes to embark upon, but we have made our commitment firm to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador; there will not be cuts in programs and services, Mr. Speaker.
Do those words all mean the same thing?
-srbp-