Former Nova Scotia immigration minister Ron Russell says he was told about concerns with the company handling a controversial immigration program almost immediately after taking over the job from Rodney MacDonald.

Russell, now retired, was handed the portfolio the day MacDonald was sworn in as premier in February 2006.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Russell said immigration officials were concerned that Cornwallis Financial Corp. was not being open enough about the millions of dollars it was collecting in fees from immigrants.

"I began to get nervous about this mass of money," the 81-year-old said in an interview Thursday from his home in Windsor.

"To me, that a private concern should have the ability to raise that money by virtue of a contract with the government, and then have complete control over that money and no accountability to the government, seemed to me to be wrong."

The province handpicked Cornwallis Financial Corp. in 2002 to run a program aimed at bringing skilled immigrants to Nova Scotia. At the time, the file came under the Office of Economic Development.

Under the program, foreigners paid $130,000 to be matched with a business in Nova Scotia for a six-month internship. They got a minimum salary of $20,000, while the mentoring company got up to $80,000. Another $30,000 covered program fees.

Cornwallis Financial filed a suit against the province after the government did not renew its contract last year.

The program itself is now being phased out and the province is offering refunds to up to 600 applicants who have not yet been matched with a mentoring company, an amount that could total $60 million.

Critics demand answers

After the province quietly offered the refunds, opposition critics demanded answers about what had happened with the program. The provincial auditor general said this week he would investigate.

Russell said he had never heard of Cornwallis Financial before becoming immigration minister. He expected the company to open its books when he asked in the spring of 2006.

"I don't know exactly what the response was but it was to the effect that, look it's none of your business and carry on with your business and we'll look after ours," he said.

Russell said the company was similarly unco-operative when the province suggested charging less than its $130,000-a-head fee.

"We wanted to decrease the fees that we charged to immigrants to try and increase the pool, particularly of tradespeople coming to Nova Scotia, and Cornwallis, of course, told us we couldn't do that. That struck me as being rather strange as well," he said.

Russell said it's unfortunate the province did not control the fees or the program because, he said, it attracted some people only interested in buying a Canadian citizenship, which he believes is not the kind of immigrant Nova Scotia needs.

Contract cancelled

Russell was minister of immigration for three months before he retired after the June 13, 2006, provincial election.

The province announced it had cancelled the contract with Cornwallis Financial on June 30, 2006, four days after Carolyn Bolivar-Getson took over the immigration portfolio.

Cornwallis filed its lawsuit in September of that year, saying it was entitled to the $1.4 million in interest in the fund immigrants had paid into. The company also claimed it was not in default of the contract.

According to a 40-page summary of documents filed in the suit, it appears there were six or seven meetings between the company and the Office of Immigration in the spring and fall of 2005, when MacDonald was minister.

The list suggests MacDonald was present at one of those meetings.

MacDonald has refused to say what the discussions in 2005 were about, citing the lawsuit.

In an e-mail earlier this week, the head of Cornwallis Financial Corp. said he is out of the country but will consider telling his side when he returns.