Crocus investors deserve fair treatment - and all Manitobans deserve a public inquiry

This Wednesday, a large number of investors who lost personal savings in the collapse of the NDP-linked Crocus Investement Fund rallied on steps of the Legislature.

It was obvious how upset and frustrated these folks were about they way they've been treated by the Doer government.

Many of these people chose to invest large amounts of their retirement savings on the basis of the confidence routinely expressed by provincial governments - both Conservative and NDP - in Crocus. That confidence came in the form of generous tax breaks, positive comments during budget speeches, and even inserts of Crocus promotional material right into the pay envelopes of government employees. Given the praise heaped on Crocus by both Tory and NDP MLAs, is it any wonder why so many investors thought: surely the provincial government wouldn't be pushing an unsound fund?

Further, since the collapse of the fund, not only has the NDP shown no remorse for its pumping of Crocus, but has failed to deliver on its original promise to let investors have a say in what happens to what remains of fund. It is, after all, their money and one would think that they should have at least some say in what is done with it.

Crocus was clearly 'oversold' by the provincial government and the risks of losing money were downplayed far too often. The Auditor General of Manitoba has also documented in a lengthy report how evidence began to surface as early as 2001 and 2002 about serious problems with the fund. The Doer NDP could have acted early to stop the problems from growing but for their own reasons they chose not to act. Worse, when the Crocus Fund was discovered to be operating in a manner that was counter to the law by having more than 10% of its assets in a single business, instead of launching a proper inquiry into the Crocus Fund the NDP just changed the law so Crocus would no longer be breaking it. Even when it was clearly known that there were major problems at the Crocus, NDP Finance Minister Greg Selinger was still saying good things about Crocus in his 2003 budget speech.

Crocus investors rightly feel they have not had a fair deal and it's time for those who invested in Crocus to be treated fairly. There needs to be a public inquiry into what happened with Crocus, why it happened, and who was responsible. This public inquiry also needs to provide direction on how those wronged in the collapse of Crocus should be helped. And this public inquiry needs to provide recommendations on how we can ensure we have the best possible climate for venture capital investment in Manitoba.

The NDP has made it abundantly clear they have no interest in an inquiry - no need to hold our breath on that one. But I am also very concerned that if the Conservatives are elected in the next provincial election, they will call a lame-duck inquiry that will limit its investigation to the years when the NDP was in power. This will overlook any problems originating in the early Conservative years of Crocus.

I believe they only sure fire way of getting a full public inquiry into what happened with the Crocus Investment Fund is to elect a provincial Liberal government in Manitoba.