Opportunities NB boss won't say if companies hitting job-creation targets

The head of Opportunities New Brunswick got a rough ride at the legislature on Wednesday as an Opposition MLA demanded he reveal whether companies receiving taxpayer money are hitting their job-creation targets.

CEO Stephen Lund flatly refused to tell Progressive Conservative member Kirk MacDonald if the companies were creating more, fewer or roughly the number of jobs that had been announced.

"We're not going to share it," Lund said. "Some of these companies are public, some private. They don't necessarily want that information out specifically."

We're not going to share it.- Stephen Lund, Opportunities New Brunswick CEO

But MacDonald said he didn't want "the exact number."

"Are they on track to meet their target, are they below that, or are they above?" he asked.

Lund stuck to his guns, refusing to answer. He also wouldn't say how much of the payroll rebates, which are tied to their job-creation promises, the companies have collected.

"We don't share that specific information on specific companies," he said. "That's up to them."

Some of the companies, "for competitive reasons, don't want that information out."

• BMMTestlabsplans 1,000 jobs inMonctonover 5 years
• 1,000 jobs promised forMonctonappear slow to materialize

MacDonald responded that companies that don't want the information released publicly "maybe shouldn't be prepared to accept the support in the first place."

At one point, MacDonald wondered aloud why Lund had bothered showing up and suggested he go back to his office to prepare some better answers.

The PC MLA, who was the minister of Business New Brunswick for part of former premier Bernard Lord's second mandate, had a list of Opportunities New Brunswick job-creation announcements at hand for Lund's appearance.

BMM Testlabs 'behind'

He zeroed in on the Crown corporation's splashy announcement in September 2015 that BMM Testlabs would create 1,000jobs in Moncton over four years.

Two hundred of those jobs were supposed to be created by the end of 2016, but in December the company wouldn't say how many were in place.

You're not talking about much.- Kirk MacDonald, PC MLA

Lund would only say on Wednesday that "less than" 1,000are working at the company now. "Where are they in terms of the first year? They're behind."

He pointed out that IBM, another recipient of money from Opportunities New Brunswick, has created all its jobs in one year instead of the promised two.

But MacDonald used Lund's admission that BMM was "behind" to ask him whether several other companies were on track.

"I'll talk in generalities, but not specifically, company by company," Lund said.

"Well, let's try," MacDonald said.

No specific numbers

He asked Lund about job-creation announcements he made with Clean Harbours Energy, Advanced Heli Core Inc., Vilco Ltd., and Trevali Mininc Corp., all in 2015.

"We're not going to talk about specific numbers," Lund said. "You're welcome to call the company and see if they'll share that."

"You're not talking about much," MacDonald answered. "So we really have no idea. You can't tell me "

"I didn't say I can't tell you," Lund cut in. "I said I'm not going to share specific information within each company."

"Well what's the purpose of the committee?" MacDonald asked. The Crown corporations committee is the only opportunity MLAs have each year to question the chief executive officers of the publicly owned companies.

MacDonald continued citing Lund's admission that BMM was "behind" to urge him to reveal whether other companies were "below, at par, or above" their promised numbers.

Lund said BMM's delays in hiring were already publicly reported in the media, but he repeated his refusal to give any information about other companies.

He said Opportunities New Brunswick assesses job-creation numbers from recipients at the end of each year, then decides how much of the payroll rebates to hand over.

Lund did provide some other information MacDonald asked for, such as what some specific job-creation funds were earmarked for.