All N.L. assets up for review, says finance minister, but opposition says 'enough is enough'

Newfoundland and Labrador's finance minister says the provincial government will undergo a review of the province's assets to determine their value and decide whether to hold onto them — but the opposition says the review is a waste of time and money.

Siobhan Coady said Tuesday the review will be undertaken by Rothschild and Co., a multinational bank and financial services company based in France, which will review the province's assets to determine their value and file a report in March.

Coady said the review will cost the province about $5 million but she wouldn't confirm the report would be made public, due to the potential presence of "commercially sensitive information." 

The purpose of the review is to be informed on the province's assets to make the right decisions for the province's long-term future, she said.

"I think that's a very responsible and prudent thing to do," Coady said. "No decisions have been made at this point. We're going to receive their considerations … then we'll determine our path forward from there."

Although all assets are under the microscope, Coady said, the review will focus on the province's oil and gas holdings, registries, the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation and Marble Mountain.

All four were mentioned by name in The Big Reset, a five- to six-year plan tabled by the premier's economic recovery team, headed by Moya Greene, which recommended everything from tax increases and spending cuts to streamlining the public service to address the province's financial problems.

While the provincial government says the report is still being reviewed, Coady said the Rothschild report serves a different purpose.

"This is now looking at the value of our assets … for consideration as to how to best optimize them for the province," she said.

"We are trying to address our debt and our deficit.… We don't want to continue to burden our children and our grandchildren."

Following the announcement, PC finance critic Tony Wakeham says he wonders why the review is being done at all.

"Why do we need to go out and spend another $5 million if the Greene report … was going to be their economic plan?" he said. "Why not share the information with the people of the province?"

In a media release, Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees union, said he believes the report is being done to justify privatization.

"This government talks about making tough choices … but what we are seeing here is the same, tired approach that has failed in jurisdiction after jurisdiction," he said. "We're pouring millions into these consulting firms to come up with predetermined solutions while they buy $500 dinners to party fundraisers. Enough is enough."