A scathing audit report has revealed widespread conflicts of interest and mismanagement at Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a federal agency tasked with promoting green ventures. Blacklock's Reporter says the agency's directors had conflicts of interest in 186 cases, with 90 instances of voting for subsidies that benefited friends and associates.Auditor General Karen Hogan testified that the agency's management of conflicts of interest was "poor" and that the violations "call into question the objectivity and impartiality of the Foundation and its decisions." The agency paid out $856 million in subsidies between 2017 and 2023, with some funds going to ineligible projects of no environmental value.Conservative MP Michael Barrett called the agency a "billion-dollar green slush fund" and criticized the lack of accountability. “We have heard damning testimony from whistleblowers," he said.Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné expressed concern that the federal government was unable to follow its own laws, citing "violations of the law" and "significant lapses" in the agency's management.Annette Verschuren, a Liberal donor who contributed $10,750 to the Party, in 2019 was appointed chair though her private business was subsidized by the agency. Verschuren subsequently voted to pay her company an additional $217,000 grant. She abruptly resigned last November 20.The agency's poor management and conflicts of interest have sparked outrage and calls for greater accountability in the use of public funds.
A scathing audit report has revealed widespread conflicts of interest and mismanagement at Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a federal agency tasked with promoting green ventures. Blacklock's Reporter says the agency's directors had conflicts of interest in 186 cases, with 90 instances of voting for subsidies that benefited friends and associates.Auditor General Karen Hogan testified that the agency's management of conflicts of interest was "poor" and that the violations "call into question the objectivity and impartiality of the Foundation and its decisions." The agency paid out $856 million in subsidies between 2017 and 2023, with some funds going to ineligible projects of no environmental value.Conservative MP Michael Barrett called the agency a "billion-dollar green slush fund" and criticized the lack of accountability. “We have heard damning testimony from whistleblowers," he said.Bloc Québécois MP Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné expressed concern that the federal government was unable to follow its own laws, citing "violations of the law" and "significant lapses" in the agency's management.Annette Verschuren, a Liberal donor who contributed $10,750 to the Party, in 2019 was appointed chair though her private business was subsidized by the agency. Verschuren subsequently voted to pay her company an additional $217,000 grant. She abruptly resigned last November 20.The agency's poor management and conflicts of interest have sparked outrage and calls for greater accountability in the use of public funds.
