Provincial gov’t aware of ‘inaccurate’ Brightenview ads in 2013: briefing note

SASKATOON The Saskatchewan Party government has known for four years that potential investors in China have been given “inaccurate information” regarding Brightenview Development International Inc., the company it partnered with on a proposed $45 million wholesale mall at the Global Transportation Hub, according to a confidential briefing note.

That information includes the promise of priority access for investors to the government-run Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) and quotations from senior Ministry of the Economy officials, according to the briefing note, obtained by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix under Freedom of Information legislation.

While it’s unclear in each of four cases identified whether the promotional materials originated with Brightenview or another third party, the SINP ultimately holds Brightenview responsible for ensuring government immigration programs are promoted accurately and honestly, government officials said in the briefing note.

Reached by phone on Thursday afternoon, Brightenview CEO Joe Zhou declined to comment. Hours later, Zhou said in an email that the company always addresses “miscommunications” with its thirdparty partners, and any concerns brought to its attention are addressed immediately.

In an emailed statement, government spokeswoman Kathy Young said the SINP program does not give preferential treatment to any individual or group, and the Ministry of the Economy may consider prohibiting Brightenview from using it if misrepresentation occurs again.

Brightenview has been operating in Saskatchewan for at least five years. In 2012, it unveiled plans to build a sprawling wholesale mall north of Dundurn. While Zhou has said previously that the project remains viable, the land is undeveloped and all mention of it has been scrubbed from Brightenview’s website.

Last year, Brightenview announced plans for a new project at the GTH, which has been mired in controversy over a series of land deals in 2013 and 2014. Officials at the inland port said earlier this year that the company has paid more than $3 million toward the $7.6 million land purchase, and construction is underway.

The company has attracted controversy because of its stalled Dundurn project and a similar project in Chatham-Kent, Ont. that was announced in 2014 but failed to progress. Politicians from both municipalities have said the provincial government did not ask them about Brightenview before agreeing to sell it land at the GTH.

Premier Brad Wall said in July that the company is “dealing with” its past issues and meeting its obligations to purchase the GTH land. Saskatchewan NDP GTH critic Cathy Sproule responded by saying of the Saskatchewan Party, “As long as the cheque doesn’t bounce, they’ll do business with people.”

According to the briefing note, the Saskatchewan government first learned that inaccurate information was being used to promote the company’s projects in 2013, at which point the SINP sent Brightenview a cease and desist letter requiring it to retract and correct the advertising materials.

Two years later, a Saskatchewanbased immigration consultant contacted the government over concerns that advertisements for Brightenview’s Dundurn project suggested investors would receive priority processing under the SINP program, according to the briefing note.

Despite not being able to prove Brightenview was responsible for the ads, the government again brought its concerns to the company and “it was agreed that continued inaccurate or misleading promotion threatens the project and its potential investors when investor expectations do not meet reality,” the briefing note stated.

The government next heard about the issue in November 2016, when it was discovered that Brightenview “had continued to use inaccurate or misleading information … in an attempt to convince potential investors that the project had received support or endorsement by multiple levels of government,” according to the briefing note.

The most recent incident took place in April and involved a Chinese immigration company claiming to be the GTH project’s official agent used information suggesting that investors are guaranteed priority processing under the SINP’s entrepreneur program, Ministry of the Economy officials said in the briefing note.

That incident led government officials to again recommended contacting the company with the aim of warning it that “false or misleading information” may result in additional scrutiny of any immigration applications — or Brightenview being prohibited from using the SINP, according to the briefing note.

In her email on Thursday, Young said that in the most recent case the information was removed after “a discussion took place with (Brightenview) to gather information and to explain the issue in detail to rectify the situation.”

Brightenview responded to the ministry’s satisfaction, Young said.

“The Government of Saskatchewan welcomes the investment Brightenview has made in our province. The Global Trade and Exhibition Centre, currently under construction, increases trade and economic opportunities for Saskatchewan.”