Dalhousie open to renegotiating $100M COVID-19 relief deal

A Dalhousie University official has told a Nova Scotia Legislature committee the institution is open to renegotiating the $100-million deal it signed with the province in March 2020 to create and run COVID-19 relief programs on the government's behalf.

Matt Hebb, the school's vice-president of government and global relations, was one of a dozen witnesses called before the public accounts committee Wednesday to answer questions related to the most recent report by Nova Scotia's auditor general.

"I can tell you 100 per cent if the government approached us and said we'd like to rethink this agreement in some way, no problem," said Hebb.

Made public last Tuesday, Auditor General Kim Adair's report questioned the amount of taxpayers' money Dalhousie received and suggested the province should not have given up control of money that could have been used to fund other government priorities.

"We are concerned that this money, spent before the government knew how much it would need, will never return to the province," she noted in her report.

Auditors found, as of July, there remained $58.6 million in the fund — $34.7 million of that earmarked for loan guarantees for the province's largest tourism-related businesses, money that will only be needed if those operators default on their loans.

Any money left over in 2027 from the relief programs will be handed over to Research Nova Scotia to fund public health research.

More money has been spent

Government officials told the committee Wednesday the residual amount has been reduced by another $14 million since this summer.

The money went to cut more relief checks for existing programs and for new government initiatives, including $5 million for a program designed to spruce up waterfronts, $2 million to sponsor outdoor events and attractions that feature local artists, and $3 million to help small businesses attract more customers and grow sales in the digital economy. 

Although the university has the ultimate say over where that money goes, under questioning, Hebb told the committee Dalhousie would not act on its own or make decisions in opposition to the province's advice.

"We would not try to establish priorities for unspent funds in the absence of advice directly from the government," said Hebb. "Dalhousie has no interest in inserting ourselves into the role of determining what's in the public good.

"We believe that that is a responsibility of the government and the members of this chamber."

Although the university is open to renegotiating the deal, a senior provincial finance official told the committee the department is not looking to do that.

"Not something that I've been asked to explore or discuss," said associate deputy minister Geoff Gatien. He went on to say he would, if government gave that direction.

Under questioning, Gatien could not say for certain why the previous government approached Dalhousie University to handle COVID-19 relief programs or how the Liberal cabinet of the day determined $100 million would be needed.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the Economic Development Deputy Minister Scott Farmer said the province didn't have the resources to handle the job.

"I don't think we could have got as much money out the door as quickly without the support of Dalhousie," said Farmer.

He called the university "a valuable tool in the toolkit the province had to be able to deliver relief."

Farmer pointed to last spring when the province was funding three relief programs concurrently. 

"Dalhousie was running one, Tourism Nova Scotia was running another and we were working with Service Nova Scotia to deliver a third," said Farmer. "It would have been very difficult for any one entity to deliver all three at the same time."