P.E.I. loan write-off bill should be retroactive, says opposition

Both opposition parties in the P.E.I. legislature say a new bill on loan write-offs doesn't go far enough.

If the legislation is passed, Crown corporations will require cabinet approval before they can write off government loans. Cabinet would then be allowed to disclose the names of debtors and the amounts written off.

But PC MLA Matthew MacKay said the bill should be retroactive, since concerns expressed by the auditor general go back to 2005.

"When I asked the economic development minister about the loan write-offs from 2005 to 2015 I was told to use the Freedom of Information Act," said MacKay.

"Can the minister confirm that Islanders wanting information about loan write-offs of their own tax dollars will have to pay for the privilege of maybe getting transparency?"

Premier Wade MacLauchlan says government received a legal opinion that it can't make the bill retroactive and disclose information from previous write-offs.

Finance Minister Allen Roach also told the House Tuesday no further write-offs will take place until the new legislation comes into effect on Feb. 1.