The Nova Scotia Government has announced they are writing off $15.8 million dollars from various debts owed to them.
Finance Minister and Treasury Board Minister Allan MacMaster announced that write-offs are a normal cost of doing business whether in the private or public sectors.
“Writeoffs are a standard accounting practice and while these transactions originated in previous fiscal years, they will have no impact on departmental budgets or Nova Scotia’s bottom line for the current fiscal year,” said MacMaster.
The debt was made up of uncollectable ambulance fees and Pharmacare premiums at Health and Wellness, various unpaid fines at Justice, outstanding loan balances at Agriculture, and unpaid student loans at Advanced Education.
Four government departments and their associated programs make up a lion’s share of the debt being written off. Uncollected student loans and financial support from the Agriculture Department totaled $4,690,985, uncollected or defaulted student loans from the Department of Advanced Education totaled $3,124,810, uncollectable Justice Department fines totaled $4,579,663 and various debts from the Health and Wellness department equaled $3,118,083.
The Nova Scotia Government announced it was writing off these debts on Friday, March 25. Photo: Nova Scotia Government.
Although the debts are being taken off the books the Nova Scotia Government says in some cases an effort to collect may still be made.
