CTVNEWS

Liberals claim G8 fund a 'vanity project' with no controls

CTV.ca News Staff Published Wednesday, March 30, 2011 12:10PM EDT

A photograph of the G8 action plan sign put up by the government of Canada as a three-metre high steel fence is being assembled around the Deerhurst resort and golf club in Huntsville Ont., on Saturday, June 5, 2010. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on projects that may have had nothing to do with the G8 meetings in Huntsville, Ont., the Liberals allege.

And G8 members may never have seen the projects, let alone made use of them, Liberals claim ina news release issued Wednesday.

The Conservative government allocated $50 million to the G8 Legacy Infrastructure Fund ahead of last year's event, in order to cover the cost of projects that would help prepare the picturesque Muskoka region for the international event.

The riding is represented by Conservative Transportation Minister Tony Clement.

But in a news release issued on day five of the federal election campaign, Liberal candidate David McGuinty alleges there were no controls on the money and no requirements that the projects actually relate to the summit.

In the release McGuinty accuses Clement of using the fund as "his own personal slush fund to pepper his riding with $50 million in taxpayer-funded vanity projects."

The release includes documents obtained through a House of Commons Order Paper response that was tabled by the Conservatives on Friday, according to McGuinty, just over an hour before the government fell.

The document answers a number of questions.

It reveals that $45.7 million was approved to 17 recipients, for 32 "G8 projects."

The money was allocated through Clement, to municipalities or the provincial government, who then hired companies to carry out the projects.

"Recipients were not required to report which companies were awarded contracts," the document states.

"All contribution agreements included a provision that recipients ensure that all contracts are awarded in a way that is transparent, competitive and consistent with value for money principles and are managed in accordance with their policies and procedures."

The document lists the projects that were approved. They range from road improvements to signage, park upgrades, "downtown beautification" in various communities and a band shell and public washroom.

The projects were completed in communities across the Muskoka region, including Huntsville, Gravenhurst, Lake of Bays, Bracebridge, Parry Sound, Kearney, Sundridge, Burke's Falls and South River.

While the projects cost as little as $38,500 for an "all season roofed heritage plaque in Baysville," they range up to $3.5 million in improvements to the North Bay airport and the whopping $17 million cost of constructing the G8 Centre in Huntsville.

Following are some of the more expensive projects on the list: