Mr. Speaker, how has the Liberal government misled Cape Bretoners on Devco? Let me count the ways.
The Minister of Natural Resources said in this House on many occasions “There is no plan to shut down Devco”. The facts are different.
The federal government commissioned a study by Nesbitt Burns in 1995 to plan the sale and closure of the Cape Breton Development Corporation. This plan called for a sale in 1996 or, failing that, in 1999. The plan has been followed to the letter.
In the fall of 1998 the management of Devco said it did not have enough money to make the payroll and it had to be bailed out by a $41 million cheque from Ottawa. Devco's management then spent $11 million to buy new jacks, new jacks that would only be needed if new walls were being developed, new mines opened. There was $11 million worth of jacks, a gift to whomever buys Devco.
At the same time, the corporation sold seven diesel locomotives without tender, locomotives needed to haul coal, locomotives needed to provide emergency power to the mine in the event of a power outage.
While miners have been laid off over the last two years, more management personnel have been hired.
These examples are just two of the many that prove a pattern of managed mismanagement at this crown corporation.
From the election of the Liberals in 1993 Devco has suffered from a slow hemorrhage, a hemorrhage of money, of workers and of political will. Ultimately that is the central issue. This government has been unwilling to talk openly about its very obvious agenda.
The Nesbitt Burns communication synopsis outlined problem areas for the government that it needed to address in order to facilitate the divestiture of Devco. A popular call-in show, Talkback , was cited as an obstacle to easing the sale. In 1998 the show was cancelled following pressure applied by Liberal advertisers, leaving Cape Bretoners without a forum to exchange their views.
Every angle was covered. The report raised the issue of ownership of the coal leases, perceived as being a source of possible conflict with the provincial government. Just weeks ago the Liberals in Ottawa announced that the issue had been examined from a legal perspective and they were confident of their jurisdiction.
The only thing that changed between then and now was the wave of change that swept Nova Scotia. That change saw the rejection of the former minister of health because of his abandonment of the coal industry and the election of a coal miner's daughter.
I have been on the record on this issue many times. I have predicted events concerning this process, and despite accusations of being hysterical from the Liberals, time has unfortunately proven my predictions correct.
I promised to stand up for the miners when I was elected. I am here once again to demand accountability from this government. I call on the government to openly discuss the future of Devco with Cape Bretoners and, as a first step, to immediately launch a forensic audit of the crown corporation.