St. John’s, NL (November 22, 2018) – Ches Crosbie, Leader of the Official Opposition, will write to the Auditor General to request that she conduct an investigation of the arrangements under which the provincial government is doing business with Canopy Growth for the production and supply of cannabis products to Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Question Period on Thursday, Crosbie asked the Ball Liberal government to request the Auditor General to investigate these arrangements in the interest of openness and transparency, but they refused.

“We believe this is a matter of significant public interest, and taxpayers have a right to know ‘why’ this company was picked, ‘how’ it was picked, ‘who’ is benefiting and whether taxpayers are receiving fair value for their investment.” Crosbie said.

Crosbie noted that the Auditor General is empowered under the Auditor General Act to require the production of information not currently available, evaluate it and make recommendations.

The Official Opposition believes a review needs to be done in the spirit of openness and accountability to answer:

• Did the Government do sufficient analysis to make a sound business decision and ensure value for money for taxpayers?
• Did the Government comply with applicable procurement rules and legislation to ensure a competitive process was exercised?
• Given the fact that a key player in the Canopy Growth deal is a numbered company whose shareholders are unknown, was the contract awarded fairly, and did no individual(s) benefit because of close personal and/or business relationships with the Government?
• Did the Government comply with lobbyist legislation?
• Is there compliance with the agreement governing the arrangements with the company, in particular section 3.6?

Contacts:
Bradley Russell
Director of Policy and Research
(p) 1.709.729.3668
(c) 1.709.685.3161
BradleyRussell@gov.nl.ca