Much has been said by Crocus unitholders, the official opposition in the Legislature, indeed many Manitobans, about the collapse of the Crocus fund. What is abundantly clear is the need for an independent Public Inquiry in this matter.

Premier Doer cites several reasons not to call a Public Inquiry, pointing to the investigation by the Manitoba Securities Commission, the RCMP investigation, the class action lawsuit by Crocus unitholders and the Auditor-General’s report on Crocus. What the Premier conveniently forgets is the fact that not one of these investigations will investigate government’s role in the Crocus scandal. The Manitoba Securities Commission is investigating the Crocus Board of Directors and whether they broke any securities laws and regulations. The RCMP are investigating whether any criminal activity took place in the Crocus scandal, and I am not suggesting that what the government did or did not do was criminal. The government may have been negligent, willfully blind or even incompetent when dealing with Crocus, but surely it was not criminal. The class action lawsuit is not the vehicle to determine Government’s role either. The vast majority of lawsuits are settled before trial with non-disclosure agreements, and we may never get to hear the truth. There is also no reason to examine government’s role in the scandal when government is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. In addition, it will take years before any settlement or any possible trial occurs, and after our labor sponsored venture-capital markets have all dried up. The Auditor-General’s investigation and report created more unanswered questions about government’s role in the scandal than it provided answers. One must always remember that the Auditor-General’s role was not to investigate the part that government played in the scandal. While the Auditor-General pointed to several red flags in 2001 and 2002 that should have caused government to intervene and take action in the Crocus file, the government chose not to intervene. Manitobans want to know why. Manitobans deserve answers. If the government chose to turn a blind eye to those red flags, the government should be held accountable for its lack of action.

The only way to get to the truth in the Crocus scandal is to compel witnesses to testify under oath at a Public Inquiry. The Premier, Maryann Mihaychuk (Minister of Industry in 2001 and 2002), Scott Smith and Eugene Kostyra, should all be called and compelled to testify as to their role in the Crocus scandal. Instead, the Premier points to the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislature, and alleges that the answers can be obtained in that committee. What the Premier doesn’t say is that testimony in Public Accounts is not under oath, and secondly, the only witnesses permitted under our Legislative rules to the Public Accounts Committee are the very people who cannot provide any answers to the government’s involvement in the scandal. Only the current Minister of Industry, the deputy Minister of Industry and the Auditor-General can give evidence at Public Accounts. The current Minister of Industry, Jim Rondeau, was not the Minister in 2001 and 2002 when all those red flags were flying. He doesn’t know what political interference was exerted and by whom, when the decision was made to ignore the red flags. The Auditor-General will not answer any questions related to political interference. The Deputy Minister of Industry similarly refuses to answer questions about political interference because under the rules of the Public Accounts Committee, he is permitted to answer questions related only to the recommendations of the Auditor-General in the report.

Clearly this government is stonewalling. It doesn’t want Manitobans to know the truth about the Crocus scandal because it has something to hide. Premier Doer will not call a Public Inquiry because he knows that witnesses who know about the political interference would be compelled to tell the truth. A Public Inquiry is required in order to clear the air. Clearly, if we can’t find out why more than 33,000 Crocus unitholders lost more than $60 Million, then our labor-sponsored capital markets will suffer. If they suffer, it will make it that much more difficult to raise venture capital in this Province. Our entrepreneurs will move to other Provinces to seek funds to start businesses and industries and our economy will suffer. According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba’s economy was the only economy in Canada to grow at a rate below the national average every year from 2000 to 2004. If we cannot get to the bottom of the Crocus scandal and make the appropriate adjustments to ensure that another scandal does not happen, then Manitoba’s economy will grow at a rate below the National average for a very long time. A Public Inquiry into Crocus would cost less than $3 Million. The 2006/07 Budget projects a surplus of $3 Million, so the money is available. It’s a small price to pay for a healthy economy. It’s a small price when compared to the $60 Million loss incurred by the more than 33,000 Crocus unitholders.