Quote:
Originally Posted by calculoso
Good:
- "Once all the cheques have been processed, the government is expected to have spent $664 million on security and other hosting costs, far less than the $1.1 billion that was approved by Parliament."
- "In many of the small towns near Huntsville, where the summit was held, money was used to improve roads, sidewalks, parks and streetscapes."
- "The audit found that after the projects were chosen, records were kept by Infrastructure Canada, the department responsible for administering the $50-million fund, and they did ensure that they met the terms and conditions of the G8 fund."
Bad:
- "The audit said the government decided in February 2009 that a fund worth $50 million would be created to help the area prepare for the G8 meeting of world leaders, improve it since it would be on display to foreign dignitaries and media, and to give the region a lasting legacy for hosting the meeting. These funds were created when Canada has hosted other G8 meetings in Quebec City and Kananaskis, Alta., but the latest one is about 10 times bigger than the funds for previous meetings."
WTF?
- "... some more than 100 kilometres away from the summit site...". Were these along the travel path of dignitaries? If so, I can understand the choices... if not? Horrible!
- "The government decided in February 2009 that the Border Infrastructure Fund would be used as the vehicle to deliver the G8 fund, and exempted the winning 32 projects from meeting the conditions for that fund. Those stipulations normally require the projects to be located at border sites, the audit said. The Muskoka region, north of Toronto, does not fall along any borders."
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Those are some selective quotes though. The AG clearly says that there is no paper trail for the projects chosen and that the decisions were made by the ministers....not good in anyway when you're spending public funds.
The misdirection or really misleading of parliament is the worst though. $50m that was supposed to be going to reduce border congestion was used for the G8 spending. I have no idea how that can be justified, by any party supporter of any stripe. Its really just plain wrong.
This is a giant pork barrel project. It might not be as bad as the sponsorship scandal (in before that comment is made by someone else!), but that doesn't mean its alright.