Government Amends Contract to Aid Group Headed by Former Liberal Leader
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says new documents obtained through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPOP) show the McNeil government amended an agreement between the government and an organization led by former Liberal Leader Danny Graham to ensure the organization got thousands of taxpayer dollars they wouldn’t otherwise have been entitled to.
FOIPOP documents show that an agreement signed personally by the Premier with Engage Nova Scotia in December 2014 included a clause that says Engage Nova Scotia can collect on matching funds provided “the donation was not made by a municipality, provincial government business union or government businesses enterprise of the province.”
According to a news release on February 13, 2015, the provincial government gave a grant to Engage Nova Scotia of $200,000 and agreed to “match funds” raised from other “private sector” sources to a maximum of another $200,000. Danny Graham serves as Engage Nova Scotia’s “chief engagement officer” he led the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia in the 2003 provincial election.
But Engage was unable to raise $200,000 from the private sector. As a result, on November 9th 2015, the McNeil government amended the contract to delete the clause from the original contract that restricted matching contributions to just the “private sector.”
This amendment allowed Engage Nova Scotia to collect at least $57,000 in matching contributions from grants they received from other levels of government that they otherwise would not be entitled to. In particular, $50,000 from the Halifax Regional Municipality, $2,000 from Municipality of the District of Barrington and $5,000 from the Municipality of the County of Cumberland.
The CTF says this just stinks of patronage.
“The Premier rigged this deal to ensure his friend and former party leader’s organization got money they were not entitled at the expense of taxpayers,” said Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director with the CTF.
“Why is it that when the private sector declined to support Engage Nova Scotia, the Premier changed the rules to force taxpayers to do it?” asked Lacey.
Documents show that in addition to the $400,000 in cash given, the government also seconded three staff to Engage Nova Scotia at a further cost of $271,421 in salaries the first year of the contract and gave Engage Nova Scotia free office space in the World Trade Centre at a cost of $28,099. None of these expenses were mentioned in the original announcement between Engage Nova Scotia and the Province of Nova Scotia.
The CTF wants to see all matching contributions given to Engage Nova Scotia as a result of this change in the contract given back to the government.
You can find the Dec 2014 contract HERE.
You can find the amended November 2015, contract HERE.