Province's 'last payment' for Francophonie Games just final instalment of 2018-19 funding

The Higgs government now says it has not cut off money to the organizing committee of the Francophonie Games, and that what it called a "last" payment in December was simply the scheduled final instalment of funding for the fiscal year 2018-19.

Spokesperson Stephanie Bilodeau confirmed that payments were set to stop in December, three months before the end of the fiscal year on March 31, because of a decision by the previous Liberal government.

"The December payment was always going to be the 'last' payment for 2018-19," she said.

Bilodeau said in an email statement on Wednesday that the province made "its last payment" to the committee in December, and because of uncertainty about the future of the Games, "no further payments … are currently scheduled."

Thursday she said new requests for further funding "would be considered as part of the upcoming process for the 2019-2020 budget year," depending on the fate of the Games.

The event, set for Moncton and Dieppe in 2021, may be cancelled because the original $17-million cost estimate has ballooned to $130 million.

The new Progressive Conservative government said it can't afford to pay its share of the larger total and is refusing to commit more than $10 million.

But December's "last" payment of provincial funding to the organizing committee did not reflect a decision to cut off its money, Bilodeau said.

The province budgeted $930,000 for the committee's operations for 2018-19 but paid it out in nine monthly instalments from April to December.

That was because of a decision by the previous Liberal government to shift funding to monthly payments last spring after it learned of the soaring cost estimates. Former Liberal cabinet minister Roger Melanson called it a "safeguard."

The nine monthly payments were to run from April to December because the Liberals wanted a solution to the growing costs by the end of 2018, committee spokesperson Tracey Suley confirmed.

Bilodeau said there was never any question of the new government withholding the December instalment after it learned of the problems.

She said her reference Wednesday to "no further payments" being "currently scheduled" was about the remainder of the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Federal government 'committed' to finding solution

If the province decides to go ahead with the Games, more funding for the organizing committee would likely be part of the provincial budget for 2019-20. But it's not clear that will happen.

The original plan was for the cities of Moncton and Dieppe to contribute $750,000 each and the provincial and federal government would split the remainder of the cost. But Higgs wants Ottawa to cover all the cost overruns.

Federal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday he met with Higgs's deputy premier, Robert Gauvin, and "we remain committed to working with the province to find a solution."

But LeBlanc has said the Trudeau government wants Higgs to pay an equal share of the increased cost, something the PC premier has ruled out.

Higgs also said in December that "in the very near future" he would set a "cutoff date" by which Ottawa would have to commit more money or the Games would not go ahead.

A spokesperson for federal Sports Minister Kirsty Duncan said Ottawa had budgeted about $1 million for the organizing committee this year and has paid out $655,079. A final instalment will be paid by the end of March.

New Brunswick's original cost estimate of $17 million, included in the province's 2016 bid when Liberal Premier Brian Gallant was in power, was based on a template provided by the International Organization of La Francophonie.

It did not include a business plan or any amounts for potential infrastructure projects.

A consultant's report for the federal government said the cost of the Games could be trimmed to $115 million, with a bare-bones version possible for $72 million.

New Brunswick was selected in 2016 to host the ninth edition of the Games, which take place under the auspices of La Francophonie, an international organization of 58 governments with connections to the French language.

New Brunswick and Quebec have "participating government" status within the organization.

The Games, open to New Brunswickers and Canadians regardless of the language they speak, would see about 3,000 participants take part in sport and cultural events in Moncton and Dieppe.