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The good news: Ottawa was nominated for an award. The bad news: It was for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s annual government waste awards, announced today.
Here are all the nominees.
Winner: Halifax Regional Municipality Councillor Brad Johns
Nominated for: A talking Christmas tree
Cost: $25,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: Johns used his taxpayer-funded councillor discretionary account – normally used to pay for maintenance for amenities as parks and playgrounds – to purchase a talking Christmas tree. One area resident expressed shock that in spite of “closing fire stations, roads in need of repair, [and] increased fees for various services” the city had money to spend on an 18-foot robotic tree which talks, sings and dances.
Nominee: City of Ottawa
Nominated for: A tribute to the wrong Jack Purcell
Cost: $45,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: The City of Ottawa installed light standards in the shape of giant badminton racquets in Jack Purcell Park to honour Jack Purcell, 1933 world champion badminton player and five time Canadian champion. Unfortunately, that Jack Purcell was from Guelph and isn’t who the park was named for. The Ottawa park was named for a {local) man named Jack Purcell who fixed broken hockey sticks and gave them to local children, as well as sharpening skates for them in the 1950s. The original design for the racquets were supposed to have strings, but once they realized they were honouring the wrong Jack Purcell the strings were removed and now the “racquets” are re-interpreted as “stylized trees.”
Nominee: Metro Vancouver
Nominated for: A sewage treatment plant conference centre
Cost: $9 million
Excerpt from the CTF report: In 2011, the Annacis Wastewater Centre opened next to Metro Vancouver’s biggest sewage treatment plant. It has classrooms and research facilities and was supposed to attract scores of researchers. The facility functions as a rarely-used convention centre, with a $390,000 annual deficit. Unsurprisingly, there is little interest in holding conventions, conferences or weddings at a convention centre in an industrial area next to a waste-treatment plant, miles away from the nearest hotel.
Nominee: City of Calgary
Nominated for: Most dangerous public art
Cost: $559,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: The city’s public art program installed a sculpture at the Genesis Centre for Community Wellness. The five metre tall steel sphere allowed visitors to send text messages that were supposed be translated into unique lights and sounds. It didn’t work properly. However, the story gets worse. On a sunny day in January when a visitor was texting a message to the sculpture, the mirrored surface of the sculpture concentrated the sun’s rays and burned her jacket. The artist was asked to fix it but was unable to do so, and the sculpture was moved to storage where it would not be a risk to burning anyone (besides taxpayers).
Nominee: Susan Fennell, former mayor of Brampton
Nominated for: Expensing 44 IQ quizzes
Cost: $172,608
Excerpt from the CTF report: An audit of Fennel’s expenses revealed $172,608 of inappropriate expenses, including $220 for 44 IQ quizzes on her phone. Her use of flight passes also breached expense rules. The flight passes included upgrades to business class and were far more expensive then the economy tickets she was supposed to use. Brampton’s council decided to punish Fennel with the maximum penalty they had the power to hand out a, 90 day loss of pay. Fennel ran in the election in October but lost, finishing third.
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Here are all the nominees.
Winner: Halifax Regional Municipality Councillor Brad Johns
Nominated for: A talking Christmas tree
Cost: $25,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: Johns used his taxpayer-funded councillor discretionary account – normally used to pay for maintenance for amenities as parks and playgrounds – to purchase a talking Christmas tree. One area resident expressed shock that in spite of “closing fire stations, roads in need of repair, [and] increased fees for various services” the city had money to spend on an 18-foot robotic tree which talks, sings and dances.
Nominee: City of Ottawa
Nominated for: A tribute to the wrong Jack Purcell
Cost: $45,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: The City of Ottawa installed light standards in the shape of giant badminton racquets in Jack Purcell Park to honour Jack Purcell, 1933 world champion badminton player and five time Canadian champion. Unfortunately, that Jack Purcell was from Guelph and isn’t who the park was named for. The Ottawa park was named for a {local) man named Jack Purcell who fixed broken hockey sticks and gave them to local children, as well as sharpening skates for them in the 1950s. The original design for the racquets were supposed to have strings, but once they realized they were honouring the wrong Jack Purcell the strings were removed and now the “racquets” are re-interpreted as “stylized trees.”
Nominee: Metro Vancouver
Nominated for: A sewage treatment plant conference centre
Cost: $9 million
Excerpt from the CTF report: In 2011, the Annacis Wastewater Centre opened next to Metro Vancouver’s biggest sewage treatment plant. It has classrooms and research facilities and was supposed to attract scores of researchers. The facility functions as a rarely-used convention centre, with a $390,000 annual deficit. Unsurprisingly, there is little interest in holding conventions, conferences or weddings at a convention centre in an industrial area next to a waste-treatment plant, miles away from the nearest hotel.
Nominee: City of Calgary
Nominated for: Most dangerous public art
Cost: $559,000
Excerpt from the CTF report: The city’s public art program installed a sculpture at the Genesis Centre for Community Wellness. The five metre tall steel sphere allowed visitors to send text messages that were supposed be translated into unique lights and sounds. It didn’t work properly. However, the story gets worse. On a sunny day in January when a visitor was texting a message to the sculpture, the mirrored surface of the sculpture concentrated the sun’s rays and burned her jacket. The artist was asked to fix it but was unable to do so, and the sculpture was moved to storage where it would not be a risk to burning anyone (besides taxpayers).
Nominee: Susan Fennell, former mayor of Brampton
Nominated for: Expensing 44 IQ quizzes
Cost: $172,608
Excerpt from the CTF report: An audit of Fennel’s expenses revealed $172,608 of inappropriate expenses, including $220 for 44 IQ quizzes on her phone. Her use of flight passes also breached expense rules. The flight passes included upgrades to business class and were far more expensive then the economy tickets she was supposed to use. Brampton’s council decided to punish Fennel with the maximum penalty they had the power to hand out a, 90 day loss of pay. Fennel ran in the election in October but lost, finishing third.
查看原文...
