NDP renews its call for inquiry into GTH
The Opposition NDP says the latest annual report from the Global Transportation Hub demonstrates the need for a judicial inquiry into its management.
The GTH had previously projected it would make $10 million in land sales in the 2017-18 financial year; instead, but for the year ending March 31, 2018, it recorded no sales at all, and $231,000 in land leases.
The GTH’S debt sits at $40 million, the bulk of it a $28 million loan from the Royal Bank of Canada.
Interest on its debt has increased to $845,000 from $635,000 in the previous fiscal year.
Property tax revenues, the GTH’S most significant revenue generator, have increased from $1,892,000 in 2016-17 to $2,109,000. Meanwhile, its land development costs and operating expenses have increased.
Billed as an inland port, the GTH has 12 clients. Its annual report admits it faced “strong headwinds” over the last two fiscal years, pointing to a sluggish industrial development market that affected sales, delayed projects and in one case, led a client to lease rather than purchase land.
Don Morgan, the provincial minister responsible for the GTH, said the economy has been slow so there hasn’t been a lot of new growth from distributors, marketers and in logistics.
“We don’t see, in the short run, any turnaround in that. It’s still a challenging time. So, for us, that’s going to be difficult for the next few months,” Morgan said.
The economy is a factor that would make something like selling off GTH assets difficult, he said. The province is now looking to sell some or all of its GTH holdings, which Morgan alluded to at a news conference last week.
During a news conference at her constituency office Monday, the NDP’S GTH critic, Cathy Sproule, called the report a “spectacular example” of over-promising and under-delivering.
“Without any land sales in sight, this is a dumpster fire,” Sproule said. “And taxpayers need to see some action on the part of the government (to) make it go away.”
The government wants “to do everything we can,” Morgan said. “We recognize that this is a taxpayer-funded investment and want to do everything we can, being mindful that these are taxpayers dollars, and the taxpayers in the province work hard for their money.”
In the report, the GTH said it’s changing its focus to the agri-food and value-added agriculture market.
There is talk of a deal with Protein Industries Canada, but the government has had no formal discussions with the consortium, Morgan said.
Sproule repeated the Opposition’s call for a judicial inquiry into GTH land deals. Last week, the RCMP announced no charges will be laid following its investigation into GTH land transactions.
The lack of land sales in the last financial year is bad news for the taxpayer, Sproule said.
“If they shut the authority down tomorrow, that’s $40 million dollars that would be bankrolled by the taxpayers for a complete failure on delivery.”