Conservatives demand probe into Liberal 'green slush fund'

Will the Liberals finally be held accountable for their reckless spending under the guise of environmentalism?

Conservatives demand probe into Liberal 'green slush fund'
The Canadian Press / Sean Kilpatrick
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On Tuesday, members of the Public Accounts Committee (PACP) approved a Conservative-led motion calling on Auditor General Karen Hogan to launch a comprehensive “value for money and performance” audit on the operations of Sustainable Development and Technology Canada (SDTC) since January 1, 2017.

This request for a second audit follows Hogan’s initial report, released three months ago, which exposed serious misconduct within the SDTC. 

Her findings revealed that 10 out of 58 audited projects, despite being ineligible, received a shocking $59 million in funding. 

Furthermore, Hogan uncovered glaring governance failures, including 90 funding approval decisions totaling nearly $76 million that were tainted by conflicts of interest. The Ethics Commissioner later confirmed that the fund’s former chairperson had indeed violated federal conflict-of-interest rules.

In an attempt to manage the fallout, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the closure of the troubled fund on the same day Hogan’s report was released. The responsibilities of SDTC are set to be absorbed by the National Research Council within a year, with little to no oversight and, as the Conservatives argue, no real changes to address the problems with the fund being abused by insiders and "well-connected" friends. 

 Conservative MP Rick Perkins isn’t satisfied. On Tuesday, he argued that Hogan’s report only “scratched the surface,” auditing just a fraction of the projects backed by what he disparagingly calls the “green slush fund.” “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Perkins declared, insisting that the billions in taxpayer dollars funneled through this program demand a full accounting.

Perkins’ motion, which passed after over two hours of debate and multiple amendments, also called for testimony from nearly a dozen new witnesses, although Liberal MP  Iqra Khalid called the motion a "witch hunt" and a "fishing expedition" which would destroy public trust. 

These new witnesses include acting board members of SDTC and seven directors identified by the Auditor General as being in conflicts of interest during funding decisions.

 Will the Liberals finally be held accountable for their reckless spending under the guise of environmentalism? Canadians deserve transparency and answers about where their money is going. 

Canada News Analysis
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