On October 27, 2023, VOCM Open Line host Paddy Daly spoke with Matt Barter. See the transcript below:
Paddy Daly: Matt Barter about the MUN AG report is in the queue.
PD: Welcome back to the show. Let’s go to line #4. Good morning, Matt Barter, you’re on the air.
Matt Barter: Hello, yes, I phoned to talk about the Auditor General’s report on Memorial University.
PD: Sure thing.
MB: So, I’ve been talking about administrative bloat since back in 2019 and back then, I also called for a review of MUN’s finances.
PD: Absolutely, and now, you got it, and I doubt you’re surprised, just like the folks at the faculty association, the student union. No one is really too surprised. I think the word is probably more likely to be frustrated.
MB: Yes, although I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as it was.
PD: Okay, would you like to pick up on anything in particular, Matt?
MB: Yes, with regards to the redactions in the Auditor General’s report for bonuses at the Genesis Centre and C-Core, I’ve filed an access-to-information request for that information with MUN, and if they refuse to release it or they redact it, then I will appeal to the Privacy and Information Commissioner and if MUN still refuses to release it then I’ll take them to the Supreme Court because it’s information that’s in the public interest. What are they trying to protect?
PD: We’re going to try to follow up with the Privacy Commissioner on some of the things we were unable or not allowed to see in this most recent report. So where to from here, Matt? What are you going to do with this report yourself or continue to look at? Administrative costs? Compensation? What you refer to as bloat? What are you going to keep your eye on?
MB: Well, I’m going to keep filing access requests, and I’m going to see if MUN is making decisions that they said they are because there are a lot of areas like using head-hunting firms for executive searches. The Auditor General pointed out that it added up to $1.1 million from 2019.
PD: Absolutely. We tried to cover as much ground as we could with the time we had with Dr. Bose this morning. Is there something in particular that you don’t think has been covered widely enough or enough focus on, given the report and the finding of Denise Hanrahan?
MB: I find it disappointing that the current president, Neil Bose, whenever people bring up the expenses of the former president, his response is that he can’t comment on former employees, so essentially, there’s no accountability whatsoever.
PD: Fair enough. I mean, accountability is a word that’s used all the time when we read these reports, whether it be at Hydro… or all the reviews that have been done in the past. We can point to it; it grabs a few headlines, a few interviews, a few conversations, and then before anyone is held accountable, it kind of gets changed with the news cycle, which I’m going to try my best to keep following up with the Child Youth Advocate, with the Auditor General, and with other authors of these reports. We have to know that it just wasn’t a 24/48 hour or weeklong sting. It’s an ongoing effort to implement the appropriate policies and oversight to make sure that these institutions that receive significant government funding are on the right track. Anything else you want to say this morning, Matt?
MB: Yes, I think the former president Vianne Timmons should be held to account because she was fired from the university for identity fraud, and she got over $1 million in severance when she left, and I think if she was here when the Auditor General’s report was released, I think that people would have called for disciplinary action or for her to resign.
PD: …these frustrating amounts of money paid out in severance, of course, baked in the contract, so I guess we have to figure out not only the rate of pay but how a public servant or public sector employee, how their severance works because people will talk about Ed Martin and Vianne Timmons and others who have had pretty significant golden handshakes even though there’s also been a knock on their reputation as they leave their important positions. I appreciate the time, Matt.
MB: Thank you.
PD: Take care.
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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