Marshall Media didn't receive college funding

By Stella Shepard

Holland College didn't invest any monies in the Marshall Media Group (MMG), says College president, Alex MacAulay. The Halifax-based company rented college space at 275 Kent st. for two years. "That's the only concrete relationship that existed between MMG and the college," says MacAulay.

In 1998 the province invested $520,000 in MMG. It released $360,000 of the amount to the group based upon the job creation performance of the company.

The company recently dissolved when MMG was unable to meet its commitment to Enterprise PEI, therefore, they were unable to be reached for comment.

"There was a memorandum of understanding in regard to a potential future relationship," explains MacAulay. "It had to do with, if indeed the college developed a multimedia program or computer animation program, then MMG would provide service to the college, on a fee for service basis."

MacAulay says the college would have benefited if the company had prospered. "A multimedia company next door with a large staff of highly specialized people certainly would have enriched the development of our Information Technology (IT) program."

About two or three hundred thousand could have been spent on renovations at 275 Kent St. before MMG moved into it says MacAulay.

"Those renovations would have been done anyway," rebuts MacAulay. "The building required renovations that weren't made pursuant to specifications laid down by MMG."

When asked if a hike in college technology fees and MMG were related, MacAulay retorted. "No, there isn't any relation between a technology fee hike last term and MMG."

If MMG had been successful, college students would have been placed there for their on-the-job training.

"We intend, at a certain point, when we could have afford it, to develop and deliver multi-mediprograms,"says MacAulay. "And it's in our interest to have relationships with private-sector companies that are in that business."

MacAulay explains Holland College technology is unable to deliver a multimedia product equivalent to MMG.

"We are in the business of providing training and MMG is in the business of selling products.

So, we may have similar technology but I don't think it has much to do with what we are talking about."

MacAulay maintains if the same technology as MMG had been available at Holland College, they would have invested in it.

MacAulay has not seen the agreement between MMG and Enterprise PEI. The document was requested by the opposition party in legislature, but it was withheld.

Kandice Ling, Enterprise PEI communication officer says contents of the agreement between the province and MMG are confidential.

Ling researched documents pertaining to MMG and confirmed MacAulay's comments the relationship between the college and MMG was for renting service only. The documentation is unavailable to the public.

The Minster of Environment and Technology Don MacKinnon, was unavailable for comment despite several attempts to reach him.