Canada PoliticsTaxpayer watchdog hands out government waste awards
It's sort of like the Oscars for us 'political geeks' except that it's kind of depressing.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) held its Teddy Waste Awards black tie ceremony on Parliament Hill on Wednesday morning.
The annual gala event involves CTF Director Gregory Thomas and mascot Porky the Waste Hater handing out pig shaped awards for the worst in government mistakes.
Here are this year's winners — or should we call them losers?
The federal Teddy - $2.5 million dollars on ads for a program that doesn't exist:
The federal Teddy goes to Employment and Social Development Canada for spending $2.5 million on ads for a job training program that didn't exist.
You'll recall the job grant program ads on your television sets during the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. They were well-done, but promoted a program that wasn't finalized and needed approval from the provinces to proceed.
The Tories eventually dropped the ad after complaints were lodged to Canada's advertising regulator from individuals suggesting they were misleading.
The provincial Teddy - $1.1 billion over budget for the Pan-Am Games:
The provincial Teddy goes to former Pan-Am Games CEO Ian Troop for his apparent bloated expense budget.
Here's the explanation as presented by the CTF.
"The games are a financial fiasco of interstellar proportions, at $1.1 billion over budget. The problem is [former CEO Ian Troop] and the government forgot to budget for transportation, security, or the Athlete’s Village, at a cost of $700 million. Adding insult to injury, Troop gained well-deserved notoriety for his expense account, all the while collecting as much as $552,065 per year in salary. While Trop racked up huge expenses like an $8,500 hotel party in Mexico, no expense was too small to stick to taxpayers, like $0.91 for parking.
"In the end, Troop lost his job for incompetence and his expense claims, but was still given an Olympic-sized severance of over half a million dollars. With another 16 months to go before the games officially start, taxpayers have already seen more gold stolen away than the Canadian ice dancers in Sochi."
The runner-up for the provincial Teddy is Alberta Premier Alison Redford for her $45,000 trip to South Africa for Nelson Mandella's funeral.
As pointed out by CTF, Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil took the same trip for about $1,000.
[ Related: Alberta Premier Alison Redford's assistant racks up $9,000 hotel tab, renewing criticism of government spending ]
The Municipal Teddy - a $4.5 million parking lot that no one uses
If it wasn't taxpayer money, this would be laughable.
The CTF's municipal award goes to Translink — the organization responsible for the regional transportation of Metro Vancouver — for building a $4.5 million parking lot that hardly anyone uses.
Last month, CBC News visited the South Surrey park-and-ride and saw only one car whose drives said he parked there because his car wouldn't get scratched.
It appears that, because of a $2 fee, commuters are just parking on nearby streets and other free lots.
The old saying 'if you build it, they will come' doesn't seem to pertain here.
The Lifetime Achievement Teddy: The Senate, enough said.
What's an award show without a lifetime achievement distinction.
This year's award goes to the Senate, of course, which continues to cost taxpayers over $105 million a year.
"Last year’s Lifetime Achievement Teddy went to the orange-juice swilling former Conservative cabinet minister Bev Oda, despite a strong case honouring the Senate of Canada," the Thomas said in a press release.
"But with one former senator finishing off a jail term for fraud, another former senator and a suspended senator facing criminal charges, two suspended senators under police investigation, and dozens more dragging their feet on the auditor general’s investigation of their spending, CTF supporters across the country gave the issue some sober second thought, and gave the Senate a Lifetime Achievement Teddy."
All 17 nominations, over the four categories, add up to at least $1.3 billion in questionable expenses.
(Photo courtesy of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation)
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