After I published the Information and Privacy Commissioner Newfoundland and Labrador Michael Harvey’s report on Memorial University’s failure to release Genesis Centre and C-Core bonuses, Modern Languages and Communications Professor Erwin Warkentin stated that this development “no longer allows the university to use separately incorporated entities (SEIs) like the Genesis etc. as slush funds.”
Warkentin said this is where considerable amounts of money get “shuttled around to the benefit of business.” He stated this allows them to use the university as a tax haven and “donate” the money to the university and get “a nice write-off and retain the rights to any discoveries.”
Furthermore, Warkentin stated that the university can move people’s “pet projects” to SEIs without facing the usual scrutiny they otherwise would. Warkentin said that the precedent set by the Commissioner’s report will stop this from happening, and they will now need to report through the usual channels.
Warkentin also stated that the government has “pet projects” run by their buddies, and they use this as a means of “blowing through huge wads of cash outside of the usual watchful eye of auditors, etc.” Warkentin concludes, “You told their business buddies, who are not accustomed to public scrutiny, that they must report what they are doing.”
Matt Barter is a fourth-year student in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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