B.C. auditor finds no conflict in handling of zero-emissions grants

The auditor general’s review of the company administering a CleanBC grant program has found there was no conflict of interest involving professional services firm MNP.

The Office of the Auditor General says no evidence of a conflict was found in the three areas it examined as part of its review.

This came after a complaint was filed by an applicant of the program, who claimed “MNP was offering to write grant applications in exchange for a success fee, while also deciding who received grant funding.”

The allegations came from electric-hybrid truck maker Edison Motors earlier this year. The Merritt-based company also alleged that the MNP representative who tried to sell the accounting firm’s services in grant-writing — for a 20 per cent fee — was the same representative who informed the small business that its application was unsuccessful.

Auditor General Michael Pickup says the Advanced Research and Commercialization Program has two grant streams: the ARC stream, and the Commercial Vehicle Innovation Challenge (CVIC).

“We collected and analyzed information from MNP, the ministry, and the program applicants. We found no evidence that MNP wrote applications for ARC or CVIC grants, influenced the evaluation process to promote its clients, or used program information to recruit clients for its other services,” he explained.

“We also found that the ministry took steps to identify conflicts of interest when the allegations were made.”

According to Pickup, his team reviewed “a significant amount of information,” adding they also “reached out to all 99 ARC and CVIC grant applicants.”

MNP denied the claims made by Edison, saying they were “false and misleading,” adding team members are prohibited from providing grant writing services for programs the company administers.

CleanBC offers companies and people rebates and incentives to help the province reach its climate emissions goals. There are various programs, including those to help people go electric or switch to cleaner energy options in their homes.

In a statement, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne says she welcomes the findings of the review.

“The auditor general was unequivocal that MNP had no role in evaluating grant applications and that all funding decisions were made by the ministry based on recommendations from an independent technical review panel,” Osborne said Wednesday.

“The auditor general also reaffirmed the integrity of the program and found no evidence to support the conflict-of-interest allegations. The ministry will work to improve the information provided to applicants to ensure it’s clearer that MNP’s role is limited to day-to-day program administration.”

Osborne says the province looks “forward to moving forward with the ARC program,” now that the review is complete.

-With files from Srushti Gangdev and The Canadian Press