Conservative MPs are pressing the federal government to release records tied to a $231 million taxpayer-funded wind project in Nova Scotia after reports linked several company directors to prominent Liberal figures.Conservative MP Michael Barrett said the Mersey River Wind Farm project appears to have benefited from favourable government financing, raising concerns about whether political connections played a role in the approval of public subsidies.“It appears as if this project secured preferential treatment for below-market financing,” said Barrett, who represents Leeds–Grenville, Ont. “That’s a cost taxpayers will have to pick up.”Blacklock's Reporter says Barrett is demanding the full release of documents related to the project at Hunts Point, N.S., after the Department of Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank approved a combined $231 million in support. Neither agency has indicated whether it will provide the records without a subpoena from a House of Commons committee.Federal officials first announced the financing on Feb. 26, describing the Mersey River Wind Farm as part of Ottawa’s push to turn Canada into a “clean energy super power.” Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson made the announcement while promoting the project’s role in expanding renewable power generation..However, reporting by the The Chronicle Herald later revealed the company behind the project includes several directors with Liberal connections. Those identified include a brother of former Liberal MP Darrell Samson, a brother of former Treasury Board president Scott Brison, the son-in-law of former public works minister David Dingwall, and a former interim leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.Barrett said the arrangement bears similarities to the scandal involving Sustainable Development Technology Canada, which was dissolved in 2024 after auditors documented widespread conflicts of interest in the distribution of billions in green technology subsidies.“All of it sounds a lot like the Liberals’ green slush fund scandal,” Barrett said.The federal government shut down the agency the same day auditors reported 186 conflicts of interest tied to the allocation of a portion of $2.1 billion in grants.At hearings before the Commons public accounts committee in 2024, Auditor General Karen Hogan warned of “significant lapses” in oversight at the foundation.“The foundation is entirely funded through public money,” Hogan testified in her report on Sustainable Development Technology Canada. .“With that comes an expectation that it holds the highest standard for ethical practices.”She added that undisclosed or poorly managed conflicts of interest risk undermining public confidence in decisions made with taxpayer dollars.Opposition MPs have repeatedly pointed to the scandal as evidence of what they describe as a broader culture of conflicts among political appointees overseeing federal funding programs.Former Conservative MP Rick Perkins told the Commons industry committee at the time that questionable relationships within the agency needed to be fully exposed.“That’s a culture of conflict of interest,” Perkins said. “Expose them and let the public and parliamentarians decide what should happen.”Among companies receiving funding from the now-defunct agency was Cycle Capital Management, a Montréal firm awarded $4.4 million. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was listed among the firm’s shareholders.
