Good deal, but let’s not get crazy

There was certainly good news in Hants County, particularly Hantsport, last week when Premier Rodney MacDonald unveiled a $20.7 million investment in Minas Basin Pulp and Power. The cash infusion will secure 180 jobs and create 20 new ones at the Hantsport facility, and we say bully for that.

The announcement comes mere months after Minas Basin was chosen to build the host facility for the province’s tidal energy project, and the investment last week will advance two new initiatives: turning wood waste into electricity and plastics into diesel fuel.

A large crowd of Minas Basin management, employees, Hantsport residents and local officials were on hand and MacDonald lauded the company’s role in environmentally sustainable economic development in rural Nova Scotia.

It’s a laudable situation indeed, but the investment raises what we perceive will be the hot button issue of the future as far as the MacDonald government is concerned: should the province, or any government agency, fund private enterprise?

We note the controversy that surrounded a $10 million federal research loan to Michelin through ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Funds program. Michelin must make 29 equal payments of $85,000, with a final payment of $7.53 million more than three decades from now.

Many smaller businesses questioned the loan’s terms as being too elastic, especially given Michelin’s significant revenue stream. John Williamson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation termed it a ‘sweetheart deal’ and told Canadian Press, “that really taxpayers are footing the bill.” Mere conjecture? That remains to be seen.

We wonder how much of the primary amount at the heart of the Minas Basin deal of $12.5 million from the Nova Scotia Strategic Opportunities Fund Inc., which is part of the federal Immigrant Investor program, is forgivable. Also, why didn’t Minas Basin secure funds from regular investment markets?

Minas Basin is a privately run for-profit enterprise, but is an industry leader when it comes to going green and staying green, and the money it received last week, plus another $27 million it plans to invest, will secure the company’s place at the forefront of eco-friendly enterprise.

Should the government get involved in this kind of cost-sharing? Generally speaking, we say no.

However, in this instance, the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages. Minas Basin has a proven track record of environmental stewardship, and the boost it received last week will enable the company to continue as a primary employer in the region for decades and ensure the dual components of economic and environmental sustainability.

We don’t like to see the government make too many forays into these sorts of public-private ventures because one wonders at one point who’s in bed with whom.

But the Minas Basin investment makes sense and we applaud the willingness to envision the future and protect the environment.