In the past decade, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has written off $38.8 million in loans in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The loans were written off under the agency’s business development commercial lending program.
The money was paid out to 190 clients and involved 264 different projects — everything from gourmet dog biscuits to cod farming to multimedia ventures.
Money also went to wildlife museums, guitars, lumber, plastics, marble, bottled water, inns, resorts and outfitters, tours, mouldings, storage, bait and dairies, to name a few.
The companies that ACOA took legal action against had defaulted on $18.4 million owed to the agency, according to a tally prepared for The Telegram by ACOA.
Eighty per cent of that amount — or $14.8 million — is included in the $38.8 million that was written off over the decade. ACOA is still working to recover the rest.
The total loaned out in this province over the past decade was $222 million to 700 businesses. Those businesses also raised another $500 million from provincial governments, private investors, banks and their own pockets. Of the $222 million, some $97.3 million has been repaid.
“I have no regrets whatsoever. It’s done well for us." - Jerry White
Of loans written off or defaulted on, ACOA’s recovery unit has managed to get back $2.36 million.
ACOA did not reveal who has paid back what.
The biggest amount awarded in default judgements after ACOA statements of claim in this province was nearly $7.7 million to Consilient Technologies Corp., followed by $1.6 million to Wood Products Industries Ltd.; $1.2 million to 10619 Newfoundland Inc.-True North Springs; $1.2 million to Griffiths Guitars International Ltd.; and $1.17 million to Genesis Organic Inc.
Peter O’Brien, a former vice-president Atlantic of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and a retired business commentator, said ACOA isn’t getting back what it should.
“Quite frankly, that’s high,” he said of the more than $38.8 million written off.
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The amount of money stolen from taxpayers under one group of initials or another. Our Conservative government has no compunctions about handing out our hard earned cash to any company or individual who has a connection to our '' RULERS OF THE REALM".Harper thinks he is the King and whatever he or his gang of cutthroat followers decide on how to steal our money, they go right ahead and unless we get rid of these gangsters and replace them with the Liberals, we will see more of our tax money going to finance the friends of the Conservatives. Let us kick the bums out comes the next election which I hope will be this Fall.