P.E.I.'s Opposition presses premier over e-gaming report
If 'it's in my hands to release it, I will,' says Wade MacLauchlan
E-gaming was one of the topics of debate during the final question period of the spring 2016 sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature.
A much-anticipated auditor general's report on e-gaming is expected to be delivered soon.
The Opposition asked Premier Wade MacLauchlan on Friday if he would release that report to the public.
"This is an issue that everybody wants to know about," said Opposition Leader Jamie Fox.
"This is an issue that the premier directed the auditor general to bring in a special audit of this file ... Will you publicly commit today, Mr. Premier, to release the special audit report on e-gaming when you receive it from the auditor general?"
If 'it's in my hands to release it'
MacLauchlan responded that he'll do what he can.
"It's my understanding that the auditor general's report will be tabled with the Speaker in the normal course, but if I'm not correct about that and that somehow it's in my hands to release it, yes, I will," MacLauchlan's said.
The auditor general is required by legislation to submit her annual report to the legislative assembly, thus making it a public document, but the same rule doesn't apply to special audits like the e-gaming report.
Auditor General Jane MacAdam has confirmed to CBC News she will deliver her e-gaming report not to the legislative assembly but to the provincial cabinet and to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, those being the two government bodies that asked her to investigate.
As premier, MacLauchlan is president of cabinet.
Province sued
In March 2015, MacLauchlan announced he was asking the auditor general to conduct a review of the province's failed bid to become a regulator of online gambling.
As part of that bid, the province provided a loan to the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI worth $950,000. Under the terms of the loan, the money was to be paid back from e-gaming revenues, which never materialized. The loan has not been paid back.
In the aftermath of the e-gaming affair, the province was sued by Capital Markets Technologies for millions of dollars. That lawsuit was dismissed in P.E.I. Supreme Court, but the company has said it will refile.
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