All three of BC’s opposition parties are joining together to call for a probe into alleged kickbacks involving millions in government grants devoted to clean technology projects.Last week BC United, the Green Party and the Conservatives all voted for an independent inquiry into independent accounting firm MNP which was hired by the governing NDP to administer a pair of grant programs under the CleanBC Electric Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program, as well as the CleanBC Go Electric Commercial Vehicle Pilots (CVP) program..It also acts as a ‘consultant-for-hire’ for potential applicants.The parties are accusing MNP of demanding so-called ‘success fees’ of up to 20% for successful applicants.At least one company, Merritt-based Edison Motors, has gone public with its concerns.Edison, a new startup that is building electric logging trucks, unsuccessfully applied for $3 million in grants under four separate programs including the ones administered by MNP..Company co-founder Chace Barber told Business Intelligence Vancouver magazine that it was approached by MNP to hire it if his company were to be more successful in winning government grants.According to BIV: “They made it kind of clear, if we want to get a government grant we have to go through them. Morally, this feels fucking wrong,” he said.Opposition MLAs strongly suggested Edison isn’t the only company to have had similar experiences.BC Conservative party leader John Rustad said he’s also “received evidence from numerous companies about this program.”.”Clearly, government should be very concerned about how taxpayers' money is being spent on this, particularly from the carbon tax.”BC Conservative Leader John Rustad .“Clearly, there is a serious problem with this program,” he said in the legislature. “It needs to be looked into. It should be taken seriously by this government. Yes, the auditor general has the ability to look into it themselves, but clearly, government should be very concerned about how taxpayers' money is being spent on this, particularly from the carbon tax.”In a statement, MNP denied any conflict of interest.The BC ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation also said there were no “technical” violations by MNP because the programs are federally funded by Ottawa, which technically administers the money. It said it investigated the allegations and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The NDP government is refusing to allow the investigation.“Government requires MNP to have safeguards in place to ensure there is no conflict of interest in managing this specific grant process,” the ministry said in a statement.“Following what happened with this company, MNP has told us that they have updated their processes to make sure businesses have clearer information.”
All three of BC’s opposition parties are joining together to call for a probe into alleged kickbacks involving millions in government grants devoted to clean technology projects.Last week BC United, the Green Party and the Conservatives all voted for an independent inquiry into independent accounting firm MNP which was hired by the governing NDP to administer a pair of grant programs under the CleanBC Electric Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program, as well as the CleanBC Go Electric Commercial Vehicle Pilots (CVP) program..It also acts as a ‘consultant-for-hire’ for potential applicants.The parties are accusing MNP of demanding so-called ‘success fees’ of up to 20% for successful applicants.At least one company, Merritt-based Edison Motors, has gone public with its concerns.Edison, a new startup that is building electric logging trucks, unsuccessfully applied for $3 million in grants under four separate programs including the ones administered by MNP..Company co-founder Chace Barber told Business Intelligence Vancouver magazine that it was approached by MNP to hire it if his company were to be more successful in winning government grants.According to BIV: “They made it kind of clear, if we want to get a government grant we have to go through them. Morally, this feels fucking wrong,” he said.Opposition MLAs strongly suggested Edison isn’t the only company to have had similar experiences.BC Conservative party leader John Rustad said he’s also “received evidence from numerous companies about this program.”.”Clearly, government should be very concerned about how taxpayers' money is being spent on this, particularly from the carbon tax.”BC Conservative Leader John Rustad .“Clearly, there is a serious problem with this program,” he said in the legislature. “It needs to be looked into. It should be taken seriously by this government. Yes, the auditor general has the ability to look into it themselves, but clearly, government should be very concerned about how taxpayers' money is being spent on this, particularly from the carbon tax.”In a statement, MNP denied any conflict of interest.The BC ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation also said there were no “technical” violations by MNP because the programs are federally funded by Ottawa, which technically administers the money. It said it investigated the allegations and found no evidence of wrongdoing. The NDP government is refusing to allow the investigation.“Government requires MNP to have safeguards in place to ensure there is no conflict of interest in managing this specific grant process,” the ministry said in a statement.“Following what happened with this company, MNP has told us that they have updated their processes to make sure businesses have clearer information.”
