Government is writing off $15.2 million in unpaid or uncollected debts as of March 31.

Writeoffs are a routine accounting practice. Debts are written off each year when it is determined they are unlikely to be paid for reasons such as personal or commercial bankruptcy, death of the debtor, or property foreclosure.

Government will continue debt collection efforts where possible.

This year’s writeoffs include uncollectable loans in the departments of Business, Labour and Advanced Education, and Agriculture, and unpaid fines and fees in the departments of Health and Wellness, Justice, Natural Resources, and the Office of Service Nova Scotia. The Department of Finance and Treasury Board is writing off a few outstanding Public Service Award advances.

Provisions for these debts were made in previous fiscal years so the writeoff process has no impact on departmental budgets or Nova Scotia’s deficit or surplus position in 2016-2017.

A more detailed summary of the approved writeoffs is available at www.novascotia.ca/finance.

Source: Release