An Independent MHA is calling on government to take a page out of Nova Scotia’s book when it comes to proactive public disclosure of government funding to private business.
Paul Lane wrote to Premier Dwight Ball and Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation Chris Mitchelmore, calling on them to follow Nova Scotia’s lead and draft legislation like theirs titled “Accountability in Economic Development Assistance Act”.
This requires government to to inform the public whenever their money is “invested” into private business under “economic development” including the company name, date of transaction, amount of money invested, the program from which the funds are being used and the specific details as to what the money is targeted for.
It also must be updated with progress by the company every six months. Lane says its a clear example of proactive disclosure.
He says it’s a true example of being open and accountable to the public for “their money”. If it can work in Nova Scotia, he sees no reason why it can’t work in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Lane hasn’t heard back from government yet, but says the last time he brought something like this forward, for example, legislation of listing directors of a numbered company publicly if they are in receipt of any government money, it fell on deaf ears.
He hopes this time around will be different after government campaigned on the notion of being open and transparent.
Lane says if government is serious about openness and transparency and it’s going to be more than just political speak, this is an opportunity to prove that and do something positive so the public knows where their money is going when it comes to grants, loans, etc. to private businesses.
All That Information Already Tracked and Available, says Minister
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation says any tax payer dollars that are being invested in companies should be proactively disclosed.
In a call to VOCM Openline with Linda Swain, Christopher Mitchelmore says for some time now, the Department has been working on updating their website so information like the company name, date of transaction, amount of money invested and more is easily accessible.
He says all of their investments have been posted online and they’re working to find an easier route to ensure that information is proactively disclosed through the Department of TCII.
Mitchelmore says government has an onus whenever they make an investment to produce all of this information publicly.
However, he does take exception to Paul Lane’s comments on government deals with numbered companies.
He says with any company, numbered or unnumbered, the directors are available through the Company of Registry and Deeds, which is online and publicly available. If government is doing business with either, Mitchelmore says it can and will reveal who the owners are in that particular company, as it has the right to do so.
