Tuesday June 29, 2010

Taxpayers will be out for blood as the laundry list of G8/G20 expenses slowly filters out to the public. For example, North Bay had been the original landing spot for international leaders coming to the conferences. North Bay's airport received a $10,000,000.00 overhaul to prepare for the arrival of such dignified guests, then our federal government changed the plans to have world leaders arrive at Toronto's Pearson airport. Ouch!

Thursday June 17, 2010

Premier Gordon Campbell has certainly fallen from grace in British Columbia this year. WIth his party now embroiled in a corruption case surrounding the sale of BC Rail, new evidence of deceit has come to the fore. Ministerial aides were instructed by Cabinet officials to use personal computers for certain files to prevent these files from surfacing due to freedom of information requests. Ouch!

Tuesday June 15, 2010

Hold on! The federal government has not spent A BILLION DOLLARS on the G8/G20 gatherings. The media relations team has pulled out all the stops today to argue that the actual price tag for security is ONLY $930-million. This price tag is indefensible, and the attempted 'spin' will not bear scrutiny. Ouch!

Thursday June 10, 2010

Next in our continuing series of over-the-top G20 costs: a $5.5-million fence. The contract was awarded SNC-Lavalin, a Toronto-based company. The long-term benefit of such a project is limited, as this barrier has been built for an exceedingly short international gathering. Ouch!

Wednesday June 9, 2010

Though the federal Conservatives decided not to hold the G20 conference in cottage country, they are bringing some cottaging right to the heart of Toronto. A man-made lake, costing taxpayers upwards of $2-million, will offer visiting dignitaries.... er.... actually, this lake will offer nothing that a postcard could not match. Ouch!

Friday June 4, 2010

The former head of Hydro One has renewed her fight to have her pension increased to $33,600 per month. She currently receives $25,000 per month, yet she argues that this is not sufficient and she should receive three years of pension credit for every year she worked the job. Ouch!