Liberals slam job creation fund for lack of oversight

The Opposition in Nova Scotia is calling for the overhaul of a disputed government business fund after the leak of a report from the auditor general's office calling for change.

Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil said the NDP has failed to reform the Industrial Expansion Fund even after criticizing it as a slush fund when they were in opposition.

McNeil said the multimillion-dollar fund, which hands out money to businesses to spur job creation, lacks oversight and should be managed by an arm's-length agency rather than politicians.

"It's done in the secrecy of a cabinet room and it raises serious questions when Nova Scotians are not given an opportunity to review business plans," he told reporters Tuesday.

"This is nothing more than a slush fund for cabinet ministers."

His comments came a day before the auditor general is due to officially release his report on the fund. But a draft version was leaked to a media outlet and contained recommendations on how to improve the scrutiny of the fund.

"What the auditor general has said is that it needs to come out of the hands of the premier and cabinet to ensure that it's an open and transparent way of dealing with taxpayers' money," McNeil said.

Auditor General Jacques Lapointe would not comment Tuesday on the leak.

Premier Darrell Dexter said he wanted to wait to comment fully on the report when it's released, but added that he recognizes there are flaws with the fund, which he has cited before.

Dexter said the program was started in the 1960s and doesn't meet today's business standards, suggesting there may be changes coming.

"We inherited a 50-year-old car and we're now looking at how you do the repairs on it and whether it's worthwhile way to proceed and sometimes it isn't," he said.

"Sometimes you need a new vehicle."

Dexter said he has already set up an advisory committee to enhance oversight of the fund. But he said rolling the fund into Nova Scotia Business Inc., the province's business development agency, might not be the best idea because the two entities do different things.

McNeil said the auditor general's leaked report recommends the fund have greater oversight and assessment of companies receiving money.