Let auditor general talk about PNP: Opposition

P.E.I. Opposition Leader Olive Crane wants to see a full public inquiry into the Provincial Nominee Program.

But for now, she's calling on the provincial government to let the auditor general talk freely about what he knows about the program.

The provincial nominee program (PNP) matched up potential immigrants to invest in P.E.I. businesses, as part of a deal that would get them their Canadian visas. The immigrants put up $200,000 each.

'He's found all kinds of wrongdoings and he's willing to bring that information forward … That would allow our committee to do the job that we get paid for.' —Opposition Leader Olive Crane

Crane is accusing government MLAs on the public accounts committee of not letting the auditor general detail concerns he has about some of the files in the program.

They repeatedly vote down motions that would allow him to discuss his findings, she said.

"We've been trying to ask the auditor general to share all the information on the files he has audited," Crane said this week.

"He's found all kinds of wrongdoings and he's willing to bring that information forward … That would allow our committee to do the job that we get paid for."

Government MLAs contend it's a privacy issue for private companies that don't want the details of their businesses disclosed.

But Crane argues islanders deserve to know the details of the program.

Ongoing controversy

Crane has sought the names of three companies that in 2007-08 received more than was allowed under the rules of the PNP, which administered investment money from people looking to immigrate to Canada.

Up until January 2008, PNP rules limited the amount of investment a single company could receive to four units, that is, money from four immigrants.

Auditor General Colin Younker told the public accounts committee Thursday that at least two companies received 12 units, more than $650,000 each, and another received eight.

The program has been immersed in controversy since September 2008, when it was suspended after the federal government changed the guidelines, raising the minimum amount immigrants had to pay from $200,000 to $1 million.

Around that time, questions began to be raised about the quality of the companies involved, and that some of those companies were owned by government MLAs and senior bureaucrats.

In April 2009, the auditor general's report revealed that three P.E.I. deputy ministers and/or their spouses received money for their companies under the program, putting them in a conflict of interest under Treasury Board guidelines.