Committee hears from first Polar shareholder

By Andy Walker

FOR THE SOU’WESTER

A new chapter has been written in the investigation of Polar Foods International.

The company, which collapsed just prior to the 2004 fishing season leaving Island taxpayers on the hook for over $30 million, has been the subject of an investigation by Auditor General Colin Younker, the RCMP, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the accounting firm KPMG. However, during that time, none of the six original shareholders of the company has ever told their story publicly.

While they were in office, the Progressive Conservatives used its majority on the Public Accounts Committee to prevent the shareholders or any civil servants that handled the file from appearing before the committee. Now, the Liberal government has used its majority on the Standing Committee on Fisheries to force the shareholders to testify.

Jack Quinn was the first to accept the offer. Prior to the creation of Polar through the amalgamation of six smaller companies, Quinn owned Polar Fisheries in Summerside. He told the committee he welcomed the opportunity to tell his story and erase what he called a "cloud of suspicion" that continues to hang over him and the other shareholders.

Most of the questions centered on a $5.6 million shareholder loan that was withdrawn in December 2001. Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan , who was the assistant manager of a credit union before entering politics, said such loans (which were made when the company was established) can’t be withdrawn without the consent of the financial institution. In this instance, the lender was P.E.I. Business Development Inc. – a provincial crown corporation.

"Did the president of the board go to BDI and say, ‘BDI we’re going to remove our shareholder’s loan piece now — may we have your permission to do that?’" the provincial treasurer wanted to know.

Quinn told the MLA’s that could have happened, but he couldn’t shed any further light on the matter since he was not present for any such meeting. However, he did indicate the shareholders viewed the money as a company receivable rather than a shareholder loan.

"You can call it what you like," he said. "It was accounts receivable to me."

Sheridan then asked the shareholder of the defunct company if he could provide any proof, like minutes of shareholder’s meetings, that would indicate that view was commonly shared by all the owners.

"This will totally exonerate you as a shareholder in the public eye if you can say that, “We felt these were receivables. We didn’t feel that was equity in our corporation. We went to BDI and told them we were taking our receivable out of the corporation now.," he told Quinn.

If that was the scenario and Business Development Inc approved the transaction, "the onus would be on them– that to me is almost the very judgment piece of this whole investigation."

Quinn indicated he would try to provide the committee with the minutes they asked for.