FREDERICTON -- The RCMP and New Brunswick's Auditor-General have been asked to look into financial problems at a francophone credit union that led to a $60-million bailout by the provincial government.
Consumer Affairs Minister T. J. Burke said yesterday that he has contacted the RCMP and the Auditor-General after being told of suspicious transactions at the debt-ridden Caisse Populaire de Shippagan.
Premier Shawn Graham's Liberal government has been under fire since announcing a rescue package for the caisse last week, just days after bringing down an unpopular budget with across-the-board tax increases.
He would not provide details of the questionable transactions, except to say they were large and involved a fast turnaround at the Shippagan bank.
"There are also concerns that there may have been a concerted effort so these transactions were not transparent in terms of accounting measures," he said.
The province also is investing $10-million in the bank in stabilization shares. Another $19-million is being paid out to enhance deposit insurance for New Brunswick credit unions and caisses.
"Financial collapse of the caisse populaire would have had significant negative impact on the credit system as a whole in New Brunswick and on the stability of our financial markets," Mr. Burke said.
Jeannot Volpé, interim Conservative leader, said the Liberals have bungled the caisse bailout, giving the bank millions of dollars when it should have negotiated repayable loans.
Mr. Volpé said he has no idea what Mr. Burke is getting at with his insinuations that the former Tory government did something wrong involving the caisse.
The Tory Leader said the Lord government tried to negotiate a loan with the caisse and had engineered a restructuring plan that was starting to pay off.
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