Opposition calls for more transparency around millions of dollars in loans

P.E.I.'s Official Opposition called for more transparency when it comes to hundreds of millions of dollars in government loans and what it referred to as the "secretive agency" involved with those loans, Island Investment Development Inc.
 
Also known as IIDI, the Crown lending agency is in charge of a loan portfolio worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It also administers the provincial nominee program on P.E.I. and owns industrial assets such as Slemon Park.

PC Leader James Aylward pointed out in the legislature on Thursday that members of the public can't apply to be on the board of IIDI as they can with other government institutions such as Health PEI. The IIDI board is made up of five senior government bureaucrats. The Tories have introduced a private member's bill which would open up the IIDI board to members of the public. 

"This board, this secretive board, is made up of five handpicked, selected deputy ministers," Aylward said. 

'Secretive board'

"Why is this secretive IIDI board allowed to have closed-door meetings with no public input?" Aylward asked in the House. 

As with other Crown corporations on P.E.I., IIDI offers no budget details that go into the province's annual operating budget. Aylward said that places IIDI outside the scrutiny of the Legislative Assembly.  

Aylward said members of the public see very little detail of loans that are approved.

PC MLA Matthew MacKay continued with Aylward's line of questioning, noting cabinet has approved 23 loans since 2015 worth a combined $58 million, but said in those notices there's not usually anything more than how much the loan is for and who received it.

Pushing for proactive disclosures

"With the public concerns around government loans and political ties, wouldn't more proactive disclosures make sense?" MacKay asked. 

Minister of Economic Development Chris Palmer responded during question period saying government is "very proud with the record that we have and there's lots of investment going on right across P.E.I. in all districts and we're happy to continue to do that."

"We have professional staff in Finance PEI that review all loan applications. They make recommendations based on the merit of the project, the ability of the proponent to pay it back, and the management expertise," Palmer said.

MacKay said his party has pressed government to publicly disclose loan write-offs, and in 2016 the government made amendments to the Financial Administration Act to address that. 

"The sky didn't fall," MacKay said. 

More information will be there, minister says

MacKay asked if government would commit to making the changes to disclose more information when cabinet approves a loan, including the loan amount the recipient, and the terms. In the most recent cabinet loan approvals, there is no information on loan terms.

Palmer said that information will be there as of Friday morning. 

"The transparency's already there, we're just becoming more consistent with it … So we will have name, summary, dollar amount and terms," Palmer said.   

MacKay also said the public should be able to know the status of a loan, and whether payments are up to date. A government spokesperson said there are privacy concerns around making that information available.

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