Loan programs benefit all Islanders
After reading Kevin Arsenault’s opinion piece regarding our provincial lending programs I am compelled to respond.
In his piece, Mr. Arsenault asserts that our lending programs are “for Liberals only.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is our programs benefit all Islanders by growing the economy, assisting new businesses, helping existing businesses expand, and creating jobs. Right now we have close to $360 million in loans out to over 1,000 businesses across Prince Edward Island. The businesses in our loan portfolio employ close to 14,000 Islanders. This portfolio includes Island entrepreneurs in all industries including manufacturing, tourism, aerospace, and bioscience. Furthermore, better than half of our clients are farmers and fishermen. The average loan size for all industries in the loan portfolio is approximately $359,000. And despite what many people think, government does not provide budget dollars to Finance P.E.I. annually. Finance P.E.I.’s programs are self-funded and they return a profit to provincial coffers every year.
Every loan application we receive is assessed by professionals at Finance P.E.I. and they are approved or declined based on merit alone. The two most important considerations are the strength of the business plan associated with the loan, and the ability of the applicant to pay the loan back with interest. Our lending is strategic and developmental, and we focus on both emerging sectors of our economy and our existing strengths, like farming, fishing and tourism.
I find it troubling that Mr. Arsenault is using loans to Island business as a political bludgeon by claiming some sort of partisan bias. Not only is it incredibly disrespectful to the businesses we support, but it’s disingenuous at best. Our lending programs serve a wide variety of businesses from one end of the Island to the other. The size of individual loans vary; from thousands to millions. And despite what Mr. Arsenault suggests in his piece, political affiliation is never a consideration for the professional staff at Finance P.E.I.
Chris Palmer is P.E.I.’s Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, and MLA for Summerside-Wilmot