Contracts worth $4.2 million were handled improperly and the Deputy is tied to a rumored police investigation
Melissa MacEachern, former PEI Deputy Minister of Tourism in alleged conflict of interest over contracts (photo – CBC)
Updated 8 PM -Opposition Leader, Olive Crane has asked the Auditor Genera to make public all copies of contracts and letters involving the PEI government and the Tourism Research Centre, to determine if the former Deputy Minister of Tourism Melissa MacEachern was in conflict of interest.
“The Auditor General confirmed Tuesday that the former Deputy had signed many of the $4.2 million in contracts that had violated treasury board policies and the Financial Administration Act. Some of these saw large amounts of money paid up front without the work having been started and in some cases, not completed. Some of those contracts were verbal, some did not have the required signatures and many of the invoices for cheques had no explanation for the money paid out.”
Crane said there are many serious issues that need to be addressed and noted that the Auditor General has confirmed that both the RCMP and Revenue Canada are carrying out investigations into the operations of the Tourism Research Centre and had been in contact with the Auditor General’s office.
Opposition Leader Olive Crane (photo Guardian)
“The Premier is ultimately responsible for ensuring that Treasury Board policies are adhered to and that there is no conflict of interest.
It is obvious that the Premier nor Treasury Board has fulfilled their obligations to the taxpayers of this province,” said the Opposition Leader.
Crane said she is pleased that the committee will be receiving the details on the contracts that were investigated by the Auditor General, since repeated requests for those contracts were refused by Tourism Minister Robbie Henderson during the spring session of the legislature.
“It appears that we are finally making headway and starting to get some answers about what has taken place in Tourism PEI, ” said Crane. “I will be very interested in seeing what information the Auditor General brings forward during the next meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.”
MacEachern is alleged to have paid invoices to her former direct report at UPEI, before her government appointment. He then, it is alleged, abstracted the money for his personal benefit and not that of the Tourism Research Centre at UPEI.
Canada Revenue (Income Tax) and the RCMP are investigating the UPEI professor among others.
The Charlottetown Guardian reported there is a direct tie-in between MacEachern and unnamed people at the Tourism Research Centre.
“Crane says she believes the fact MacEachern was seconded from the Tourism Research Centre (TRC) to work as a deputy minister for the Ghiz government placed her in a conflict situation when she was approving contracts and funding for her former employer.
“It raises, if that is indeed taking place, why the premier is not taking appropriate action on the behaviour of his deputy ministers,” Crane said.
During a meeting of the public accounts committee Tuesday, Younker revealed that some of the problems he highlighted in his 2012 report regarding certain contractual arrangements and payments issued by Tourism P.E.I. were made to the TRC and approved by MacEachern.
A letter signed by MacEachern outlining an arrangement worth $1.125 million over four years awarded to the TRC was submitted as a contract. Younker raised concerns about this arrangement because “the vast majority of minimum required standard treasury board clauses were not included” in this contractual agreement.
Younker also revealed two payments issued by Tourism P.E.I., which he flagged as problematic because there was no documentation to substantiate the work performed, were issued to TRC and approved by MacEachern. These payments totaled $44,000.
Crane was especially interested whether MacEachern was responsible for approving
$84,000 in payments that were made to an individual instead of the Tourism Research Centre .
The Canada Revenue Agency began investigating an employee of the research centre last February and the RCMP and Charlottetown city police also looked into similar allegations. Those preliminary probes have since closed.” Guardian.
Another Island Taxpayer
This story was questioned in the PEI Legislature by MLA Jim Bagnall. He raised questions about the same invoices being paid three times by UPEI, Depth of Tourism of PEI, and ACOA. To date all we heard from UPEI VP Administration, Gary Bradshaw, was fine and we’ll. Bradshaw left his job within days of Wade McLaughlin leaving and many reports have indicated that quite a few matters concerning the TRC were not quite in order.
Why has it been so difficult for UPEI officials to produce the money trail through their electronic accounting for system?
Why has Jim Bagnall ‘s questions remained unanswered at UPEI and in the Legislature?
Stephen Pate
The level of political corruption on PEI has reached pandemic proportions and no amount of facts will change that. The $540 million PNP scandal had no legal or political repercussions. Apparently the whole apparatus of government and the populace are oblivious to corruption as a way of life. Far less corruption has felled governments in other jurisdictions.
disgusted
Both UPEI and PEI governments are corrupt to the core. The previous cover-ups which have worked for them in the past seem to be failing them both at present, so far. Exposing a corrupted academe and failed society will hopefully lead to a decrease in other violations, such as human rights violations that exist with the present corrupted government office of the PEI Human Rights Commission
changesneeded
This is not the first of problems at UPEI. What exactly is being learned on this campus? There is harassment, bullying students, problems with policies, grants, problems with fair treatment advocates, ongoing human rights complaints, and instructors who have political connections and political jobs and the list just keeps going. There are problems with human rights violations occuring at UPEI but not being heard properly by the PEI Human rights commission. Corruption leads to many abuses including abuses of power. It spreads throughout the society. A shame that the university is caught up so tightly in all the abuses. Another embarassment for PEI.
changesneeded
The abuses of grants, among other things, is out of control. The professor who reported cheques going to UPEI, from Dept of Tourism to her old boss at UPEI, was fired for reporting fraud. Basically he reported wrongdoing, fraud, and the university fired him! This is how the university responds to wrongdoing. All whistleblowers and those who make complaints at UPEI are silenced in some way, either through threats, blackmail, violating one’s rights in some way, fired,and so on. UPEI is closely connected with politicians and the political offices. They protect each other so that any wrong doing can be quickly covered-up and both work together to silence and destroy anyone who dares make a complaint, reports fraud or harassment, and the list goes on so the continued dysfunction of both will continue.
UPEI business school graduate now living in Calgary
The School of Business at UPEI have welcomed back two of their professors from a year long paid sabbatical on July 01, 2112. Rumor has it that their private company called Tourism Research Center is no longer operating on the premises of the UPEI School of Business but nothing official has been released from UPEI to confirm this as a fact.
ACOA and the PEI Dept of Tourism are also rumored to be not paying any more duplicate invoices from this private TRC company or to be paying its business expenses for staff and office facilities. The official UPEI – TRC is thought to be now operating on the premises of the UPEI School of Business and business revenue from contract research is going to the official UPEI – TRC to offset expenses now that a new Dean of the School of Business was appointed.
It had been an incredible scam for a few years whereby the taxpayers paid for all the expenses (often twice for duplicate invoices) and all the business revenue was pocketed by a private company called Tourism Research Center owned by a business school faculty member and “advisor” to the official UPEI -TRC. In any other provincial jurisdiction, people would be charged and public tax money would be recovered but this is PEI and certain people in Charlottetown are “special” and get rewarded with a year sabbatical pay to get out of town until things blow over. Welcome back folks to the business school faculty at UPEI…all is forgiven and forgotten because you’re excellent and special.