Brooke, it’s your lucky day!
Brooke MacMillan resigns as Richard Brown’s deputy, immediately applies for PNP free-money, jumps a 12 month approval queue and gets appointed as CEO of the PEI Liquor Commission all in one day.
Why does it take so long to look at the needs of Islanders with disabilities?
Statistics Canada told us 4 years ago and in June 2008: there are 4,000 Islanders with disabilities who need a wheelchair, scooter, glasses, hearing aids and other assistive devices for the disabled. How can the Premier decide so quick with one of his drinking and poker playing buddies and take so long with those in real need.
This is obviously a conflict of interest, breach of trust and out right fraud that the Premier can’t send it to the tame Conflict of Interest Commissioner. Does Robert Ghiz live in la-la land? Islanders know he is lying and don’t trust him one bit.
Muffy, Premier Ghiz's dog, can't believe her ears how lucky Brooke MacMillan is
The Guardian reports – if you can believe it -
“We received a number of complaints from the accounting firms and the businesses, thinking it was unfair that they were cut off from this program without notice.”
So they opened it up again between Aug. 5 and 6th “to give them proper notice and proper closure,” Brown said.
Richard, you’re such a liar with your cotton candy story.
Oh and that just happens to be the day Brooke was planning on retiring and then the Premier said to his dog
“Muffy I know just the right man to keep a lid on all those bottles at the Liquor Commission.”
Good story Theresa.
Crane charges 48-hour processing window allowed former deputy to receive PNP funds
TERESA WRIGHT
The Guardian
Changes made to the Provincial Nominee Program right before it ended raise serious questions about whether a conflict of interest did exist in a former deputy minister accessing immigrant funds, says Opposition Leader Olive Crane.
During a meeting of the public accounts committee Wednesday, Innovation Minister Richard Brown detailed the timelines of changes made to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and when they were made.
The Provincial Nominee Program offered Canadian visas for immigrants who invested $200,000 into an Island company.
Initially, when the PNP was established in 2001, only four sectors of business were eligible to receive immigrant investment. Gradually, however, more and more sectors were added to this list.
But the majority of the changes made to the program before it ended on Sept. 2 of this year happened from October 2007 onward. It was during this time that accommodations, restaurants, start-up companies, bed and breakfasts and service industry companies became eligible to receive PNP investment units.
This was done because there were more immigrants wanting to invest than there were eligible companies, Brown said.
But in July 2007, just after the service industry had been added to the eligibility list, Island Investment Development Inc. (IIDI) staff informed the department they had too many applications from both immigrants and companies to process, so on July 31 they stopped accepting applications.
This didn’t go over well with the business community however, Brown said.
“We received a number of complaints from the accounting firms and the businesses, thinking it was unfair that they were cut off from this program without notice.”
So they opened it up again between Aug. 5 and 6th “to give them proper notice and proper closure,” Brown said.
A total of 66 business applications to the PNP were completed during this 48-hour period.
Crane says she believes it is more than coincidental that former Innovation Deputy Minister Brooke MacMillan was replaced by Michael Mayne on Aug. 6.
“We were told that the former deputy minister received PNP units but not while he was deputy minister,” Crane said.
She believes MacMillan must have applied for his units during the 48 hours when the program was reopened.
“But normally it takes people anywhere from nine to 12 months for an application, by the time you apply for it and have to go through all the checks and balances, before you actually receive units.”
She asked Brown during question period Wednesday how MacMillan jumped the queue that would likely have been in place to get his PNP application processed right away.
Premier Robert Ghiz said MacMillan did not jump any queues and was not in conflict.
A review was done by the deputy treasurer with regards to a possible conflict of interest, and that report determined there was none, Ghiz said.
But Crane disagrees.
“This was the deputy minister who changed the rules of the program, this was the deputy minister who signed the agreement between Canada and P.E.I.,” Crane said of MacMillan. “For me this is a clear, clear area of conflict of interest.”
