OTTAWA - Some small community groups say the Conservative government that demanded Economic Action Plan signs be installed at their project sites within a week of delivery is now months behind in reimbursement of project expenses.

Adding insult to injury is a federal funding contract that promises to reimburse groups for signs, plaques, bunting and a ribbon-cutting ceremony with politicians - but won't pay interest on money borrowed to keep the stimulus projects underway.

At issue is the $500-million Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program, or RInC, a small part of the massive, recession-fighting budget of 2009.

"Our principal concern around this is largely the carrying costs," said Derek Henderson, the past president of the High Park Curling Club in Toronto, which is struggling to finish a $1.3-million renovation.

"They told us the money would be coming quickly. There are extra carrying costs involved. We spent close to half a million dollars this summer and we've got to carry the interest on this for a while until they process the rebates."

The curling club project was given the green light by Ottawa in July 2009 and work began immediately. But the club didn't get its first cheque until January 2010 and is now waiting on expense claims made in March.

The office of Gary Goodyear, the minister of state responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, did not address questions about interest costs for fund recipients, but an agency spokesman did defend the program.

"All costs that are covered for projects funded under the RInC program are based on contribution agreements that have been signed by all parties involved," a spokesman for FedDev Ontario said by email.

"FedDev Ontario is working closely with the government of Ontario to ensure that claims are being processed as quickly as possible. At the same time, we need to ensure that submitted claims are eligible and complete, and that taxpayers' dollars are being used properly."

That proper use of tax dollars includes detailed instructions on communications.

"One of the conditions of this thing is that you have to invite the government to a ground-breaking or ribbon-cutting ceremony," Henderson said.

"And there's a whole bunch of things in the contribution agreement around what's allowed as expenses for that."

The contract - which requires recipient groups to submit photos of their Economic Action Plan signs - says eligible expenses for signage include maximum costs of $2,250 for a small sign and $4,250 for a large sign. Another $2,500 can be charged for a "permanent plaque."

The club can expense rental fees on chairs, flagpoles, a public-address system and a stage, and can charge Ottawa for light refreshments and snacks (no booze), printing and mailing of invitations, and media kits.

"We were howling when we saw it," said Henderson. "Bunting is allowed, plaques are an allowable expense."

But as amusing as the club found the myriad conditions, it complied.

"Hey, we were happy to get the money so we were playing ball," Henderson said.

The High Park club renovation is just one of several under the RInC program that have come to the attention of New Democrat MP Paul Dewar, who has similar cases in his downtown Ottawa riding.

Recipients don't want to speak out publicly for fear of jeopardizing money they've already spent but are still owed by the government.

"What are the priorities of the government? Where is the focus here?" said Dewar.

"It's just about signs and government propaganda. It doesn't seem to be about getting the job done and getting jobs created."

The Conservative government has 18 departments and agencies tracking the installation of signage on a weekly basis, and has tracked and recorded more than 8,500 Economic Action Plan signs across Canada in the last year.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper himself is getting briefings on the sign count, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The massive mobilization of civil servants in a sign-counting exercise and the communications obligations placed on funding recipients stands in contrast to the Economic Action Plan's swift roll-out.

"We have a one-page application form and are doing everything we can to streamline the bureaucratic and administrative process," cabinet minister John Baird boasted of municipal infrastructure in the spring of 2009.

The RInC contracts are another matter, with communications details alone running to more than 1,000 words.

"Communications Requirements" under "Schedule G" fill more than two pages, plus web links, that lay out in detail the must-do's for recipients of federal cash under RInC.

"All events and signage will follow these Communications Requirements and any other requirements that may be specified by the Ministry from time to time," says the standard document, obtained by The Canadian Press.

Among the requirements cited in the document example from Ontario:

  • "All project-related milestone events, such as groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremonies, will be organized in co-operation with the Governments of Canada and Ontario. ..."
  • Invitees to such events must be made "in consultation with the Governments of Canada and Ontario, prior to the event."
  • "All written communications (invitations, public service announcements, posters, news releases, etc.) must indicate that the project received financial assistance from the Governments of Canada and Ontario under RInC/Ontario REC."
  • "The recipient will pay the costs of preparing and delivering communications activities and products, including the organization of special events and the production of signage. These costs are deemed to be Eligible Costs. ..."
  • "Economic Action Plans signs be installed within one week of receipt."
  • "The two 12-foot mounting posts should be affixed to the sign and installed four feet below grade and eight feet above grade, for a total sign height of eight feet."
  • "After signage is installed, please submit two photographs in JPEG format (one close-up and one distance shot) of each sign. ... When sending photos, please indicate 'RInC Signage' and the project number in the subject line of the email, as well as the photo file names. Please also include the installation date."

Dewar said the communications obligations make a mockery of Conservative pledges to be less intrusive in the lives of Canadians.

"This is the government that's saying we're going to liberate Canadians from the long-form census. And yet they tag on a long-form declaration to ensure you're carrying the message for the Conservative party," he said.

"They were boasting about a streamlined process. But when it comes to controlling the message, it makes the long-form census look like the back of an envelope."