Provincial Auditor General Kim MacPherson tabling her report in the Legislature on the government’s handling of financial assisstance given to the Atcon group of companies between 2008 and 2010 while the Graham Liberals were in power.
MacPherson says taxpayers suffered the loss when the company went bankrupt because the government of the day chose to disregard the expert advice of its senior civil servants.
She says there was never a written application from Atcon for the $50 million dollar loan guarantee.
MacPherson says the application was prepared by a staff member who recommended the assistance not be granted to Atcon.
She also noted elected officials are not required to follow such advice.
The Atcon fiasco left the province on the hook for $70 million dollars.
MacPherson has 19 new recommendations to improve the management of financial assistance to industry adding our recommendations alone cannot prevent this from happening again as long as elected officials can influence the decision process, such situations could reoccur.
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