Silicon Knights "confused" over Canadian government withholding grant money

The Canadian government has withheld grant money promised to Silicon Knights back in July 2011, as it claims  funding conditions were not met by the developer.

According to a report on GI International, earlier in the week, Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack told the site the grant funding promised, and formally announced, was never provided.

When contacted on the matter, the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation's senior adviser for media and communications, Brigitte Marleau, told GI that the funding was conditional, and Silicon Knights had yet to meet the requirements.

"Ontario has a longstanding track record of partnering with the province's digital media industry, but we also have an important responsibility to ensure accountability with taxpayers' dollars," said Marleau.

"We announced a conditional funding agreement with Silicon Knights on July 14, 2011. Because the company has not yet met the conditions of the agreement, no funding has been provided.

"Over the past five years, Ontario has successfully partnered with businesses to create thousands of new jobs, leveraging millions of dollars of investment and improving the competitiveness of its economy. This includes Ubisoft which has produced blockbuster titles such as Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle."

Dyack responded to the government's statement, stating he was confused over such an accusation, as the development firm felt it had "met all the conditions for the grant."

"We are continuing to look into the situation," Dyack said.