Latest news with #BoomDoneNext
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Former PC government paid JohnQ Public $18M days before election announced
One week before the last provincial election was called, the Progressive Conservative government quietly gave JohnQ Public an $18 million grant. There was no public announcement about the one-time funding that was paid in full to JohnQ — a company owned by 12 rural municipalities — on Aug. 29, 2023. The grant is for a land purchase in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot to develop a proposed "Winnipeg Regional Rail Port," NDP government principal secretary Emily Coutts said in an email. "The grant was intended to support JohnQ's purchase of the lands plus some funds to cover engineering and environmental assessments," Coutts said. JohnQ has come under scrutiny in the past month after the government requested Manitoba's auditor general to review a $100-million daycare construction program initiated by the previous government that JohnQ project managed with the help of Boom Done Next — a company co-owned by Marni Larkin, the director of the PCs' 2023 re-election campaign. In April, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said Boom, Done Next was paid $2.8 million by JohnQ for the work. The provincial funds given to JohnQ were not awarded through a tendered contract. "A grant to purchase lands is not a good or service therefore its not required to go to tender," Coutts said. Coutts said a project such as this would require multiple regulatory steps including zoning approvals, assessing highway development needs and finding an anchor tenant. JohnQ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Winnipeg Free Press
25-04-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
NDP calls for auditor general to probe 2022 PC daycare project
The NDP has called on the auditor general to investigate a mega-contract to build daycares that it says allowed the previous government to funnel $2.8 million to a Progressive Conservative campaign manager's firm. 'We cannot in good faith ignore the political overlap,' Education Minister Tracy Schmidt told the legislative assembly on Thursday. Schmidt tabled a letter deputy minister Brian O'Leary wrote to Auditor General Tyson Shtykalo requesting his office look into a procurement process that began in 2022. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Files Education Minister Tracy Schmidt questions whether a Tory daycare contract violated ethics rules. MIKAELA MACKENZIE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES MLA Tracy Schmidt, shown at a school nutrition program funding announcement on Oct. 18, 2024, confirmed the new school planned for Ste Anne will have vocational programming. The April 16 memo suggests a construction project, valued at nearly $100 million, 'may not have followed normal provincial or municipal procurement practices.' The Education Department has questions about whether the contract was a good investment and how child-care sites were selected, O'Leary wrote. He noted none of the sites selected are located in Winnipeg. The province partnered with 'John Q,' an affiliate of capital region municipalities, to build 22 standalone child-care facilities under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement. John Q subcontracted Boom Done Next, a sales and event management company owned by Marni Larkin. Larkin oversaw the Progressive Conservatives' 2023 election campaign. Schmidt said she wants answers because Larkin's company ultimately received $2.8 million through the PC government-approved project. Larkin did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Company president Joe Leuzzi confirmed Boom Done Next worked with John Q, which he described as 'a longtime and valued client,' and helped build more than 1,700 new child-care spots. 'Marni Larkin recused herself from this work entirely and played no role in the project. I am writing to you as the sole manager of this initiative,' Leuzzi said in an email. He accused the province of unfairly drawing the auditor general's office 'into a political narrative to generate headlines' and doing a disservice to families who are benefiting from the daycares. Wayne Ewasko, who was the PC education minister in 2022, questioned the timing of the NDP releasing the letter. Thursday marked Ewasko's final day in the house as interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives. A new party leader will be announced Saturday. 'If the education minister's throwing shade on me on this, I've got no problems having a chat with the auditor general if the auditor general's office sees fit to question me on anything,' he said. Ewasko indicated he was unaware of Boom Done Next's connection to the larger construction project until Thursday. Schmidt said she was first alerted of 'irregularities' in November when she took over the file when her predecessor, the late Nello Altomare, went on medical leave. During Elections Get campaign news, insight, analysis and commentary delivered to your inbox during Canada's 2025 election. Delays related to the construction of a child-care facility in the Meadowlands development in the Rural Municipality of West St. Paul initially led to the discovery, she said. She indicated there have been issues related to administering that contract. 'That begged the question of what was going on,' she said. The auditor general's office did not immediately provide comment on the matter. Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie. Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative. Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
