P.E.I.'s auditor general won't deliver an e-gaming report until fall
Kerry Campbell | CBC News | Posted: June 27, 2016 5:00 PM | Last Updated: June 27, 2016
NDP expresses dismay over delays in review of controversial initiative
P.E.I. Auditor General Jane MacAdam says a final report on the province's e-gaming initiative isn't expected until the fall.
MacAdam confirmed the timeline in response to an email request from CBC News.
In a recent letter to the province's public accounts committee, MacAdam provided more detail.
"Our field work is substantially complete," she wrote. "However, some information we requested it still outstanding."
CBC News asked MacAdam what information was outstanding, but she could not elaborate.
In the letter, MacAdam says drafting of the report is to begin in late June, and that will include reviews and discussions with senior management and any third parties referenced in the report.
"Given that summer is upon us, we expect to experience delays in the reporting phase. Due to vacation schedules, some of these individuals may not be readily available to review and discuss relevant sections of the draft report."
NDP dismayed at delays
In a media release issued today, P.E.I. NDP Leader Mike Redmond expressed dismay over the length of time it's taking to review the e-gaming file.
"It has now been almost a year and a half, and still no report," Redmond is quoted in the release. "Why the delays and what is the overall cost of the investigations?"
In his 2015 year-end interview with CBC News, Premier Wade MacLauchlan said he expected the auditor general's report to be released "in the first quarter, or certainly in the first several months of 2016."
P.E.I.'s public accounts committee asked the auditor general to conduct an investigation into e-gaming in February 2015. A month later, MacLauchlan said he would also ask the auditor general to investigate. In the lead-up to the May 4, 2015 provincial election, the NDP said a judicial inquiry was needed, while the PCs promised a royal commission.
"We stand by our call for a full public inquiry," Redmond is quoted in the media release. "The only reasonable avenue in restoring the public's trust in our public institutions is a full review of this file."
E-gaming loan never paid back
In December 2011, the P.E.I. government provided a loan worth $950,000 to the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of PEI. That money was to finance what ultimately became a failed bid by the province to become a regulator of online gambling.
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 April 2015, a company that said it had been involved in discussions with the province over e-gaming, Capital Markets Technologies, sued the P.E.I. government 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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