Beyond The Commons

Aaron Wherry covers all the goings-on in and around Parliament Hill. Follow Aaron on Twitter: @aaronwherry

Categories: Beyond The Commons, Capital Read

One day we'll thank Jim Flaherty for all these signs

by Aaron Wherry on Monday, September 27, 2010 12:07pm - 0 Comments

Of the sectors thriving under the government’s stewardship, perhaps none has fared as well as the news conference staging industry.

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.

The government released its latest economic progress report this morning. To mark the occasion, the Prime Minister staged a cabinet meeting.

Tags: economic action plan, economy, Jim Flaherty, Stephen Harper, stimulus

More by Aaron Wherry

WDM

To be fair you can't expense door knobs you intend to use as props.

TJCook

Funny, "door knobs you intend to use as props" is a pretty respectable description of Harper's entire back bench.

BCer in Mtl

Well with the staged Cabinet meeting (and others like it in the past), you can extend the description up to cabinet level as well.

Stewart_Smith

It will be interesting to see what happens as Flaherty's deadline for finishing EAP projects approaches. There are going to be some very angry partners if he really does start pulling the plug.
madeyoulook

And the mock surprise and outrage that governments waste our money for show as they go about wasting our money in general… continues.
Style

Too little attention has been paid to one aspect of this, the fact that the federal stimulus funding signs are much better looking than either the provincial or municipal signs. is it really impossible for Ontario or Toronto to find a designer who can out-do the federal government? What has happened to Toronto's artistic community? Do the provincial and municipal signs do any better in Montreal?

Out There

is it really impossible for Ontario or Toronto to find a designer who can out-do the federal government?

The Ontario and Toronto governments can't win this. If they spend money to come up with a snazzy design, somebody will complain about the needless expense.

For this reason, I am convinced that government signage has to be strictly utilitarian.

Style

But then how will we convey the majestry and power of our public works?

Jan

Really big statues of Harper?

Style

I hope a Toronto or Montreal artist gets that commission…
MostlyCivil

Key difference:

Ontario signs are boring because of Jim Flaherty and Mike Harris using them as billboards for 8 years.

Current provincial government changed the rules so that signs and ads had to go through an audit to prevent any political or electioneering crap, you know, like the "Mike Harris is making your life better with this_gazebo rerbishment_project"
BCer in Mtl

Actually we could probably get a lot of heroic monumental statues cheap from Russia, Stalin & Stephen have similar hairstyles, all we'd have to do is chip off the mustaches (or get Stephen to grow one), and throw a blue sweater over them.

Mike T.

Too little attention has been paid to one aspect of this, the fact that the federal stimulus funding signs are much better looking than either the provincial or municipal signs.

***

I, in my turn, am not sure it is possible to pay too little attention to this aspect.
mary davis

What happened to the artistic community in Toronto? Harper doesn't think most folks are really interested in art.

chrimartel

Stay tuned, next, a commentary by Andrew Coyne:

A historical perspective and reflection on staged cabinet meetings, and why it's all Quebec's fault.
Emily

Yes, if they were wood they could at least be used to heat the tar and feathers.
Dave

I am glad someone is thinking of the bunting industry.

Jan

I wonder what country we're importing the bunting from?

Mike T.

apparently it doesn't matter as long as we send our grain to the mysterious car making machine known as Japan.

John W.

It requires very little time in office for a government to quietly begin to actually believe the taxpayers money they hand out was their very own.

gottabesaid

The sad irony is that this government was elected in large part to restore a sense of respect for taxpayers' dollars. Oh well. Guess our money will be used as a government re-election fund until further notice.

Mike T.

Nonsense! Martin had been doing a pretty good job of that for over a decade. Then some Liberals siphoned some money for donations…

Phil_King

If they put even half the effort they used to control the messaging around this "action plan" into governing responsibly, they'd probably be in majority territory by now.

It's obvious from the state of the opposition that the CPC's worst enemy… is themselves.

After all, they apparently have a team of people tracking every last sign, but haven't been able to produce a detailed analysis of the spending for each project? Huh?

austinso

I suppose we should give them _some_ slack though, since addition is a lot harder than counting…plus you have to deal with all those funny things like decimals and dollar signs which can be really really confusing…

Jan

Hopefully the new ever-so-brilliant Chief of Staff will be able to sort things out. He's in for a bit of a culture shock.

Mike T.

I hear he doesn't even take off his socks till after 16!

chet

And when Martin shamelessly donned the tradditional aboriginal garb, (amongst a myriad of other "staged" events done in the past) the media shrugged.

But its the conservatives, and they're announcing very good news. So the focus has to be away from the actual information being delivered, to the fact that it's …..gulp…organized and such.

As for the signs, as has already been pointed out, the provincial and municipal ones are everywhere. And before the CPC the Libs had them everywhere too.

But again, its the conservatives, and their economic policies are wildly successful (compared to every other Western country), so the goal posts must be shifted.

Hey, a new scandal:

organized press conferences (gate)!!
chet

"Canada recorded a deficit of C$473 million ($462 million) in July, down from C$5.82 billion during the same month last year"

While we watch in horror as the US deficit quadruples before our eyes, under Harper, Canada's is shrinking rapidly (expected to be in surplus now next spring).

Wherry can sarcasticly "thank" Harper for staging (something wholly inconsequential to the average Canadian who's smart enough to know that its part of the process).

But Canadians can safely thank Harper thusly:

Thank you Mr. Harper and the rest of your economic team for keeping your eye on the ball.

Let the partisans in opposition whine about esoteric issues on prorogue and whether we have a long form vs. short from census.

Whether I can afford my children's lessons, how well we eat, and peace of mind about my retirement and my kids' future is what matters most to me.

That Harper's government has weathered this economic storm better than any in the world is critical. All the other "gotcha" games being played is petty nonsense.

Emily

Oh give it a rest. You know very well none of this is true, so stop repeating it.

chet

"none of this is true"

right, that direct quote was actually concocted by me and sent out to Bloomberg, Reuters et al to supplant the REAL deficit figures being kept in the "secret agenda" vault which shows in fact the deficit skyrocketing instead of plummeting.

I'm busted.

Emily

Pay attention to Mark Carney, not Harper.

Orson Bean

So does Mark Carney disagree with those debt and deficit figures?

Emily

Oh and all PMs donned aboriginal head dress.
Dave

Ah, yes, in place of tax-and-spend Liberals, we have borrow-and-spend Tories.

Scroo you, kids' futures!
gottabesaid

'…keeping the eye on the ball'

You mean like when you let $1.3 billion out the door for G8/G20? Yeah, bang up job, guys. Keep up the good work. Or do you mean the economic update back in 2008 when these economic geniuses had us running a surplus in 2009? Wow, fiscal soothsayers these guys. Or is it the financial wisdom to piss away money on new prisons? Just wondering what exactly we should be thankful for.

I'm just interested to know, when the economy does tank again, who this government is going to blame? The Liberals? The gun registry? The separatists?
Jan

Are those assets that haven't been sold yet (or identified) still on the books as income?

Jenn_

Oh yeah! I forgot about that Flaherty trick. Thanks for reminding me.

DianeG

Signs, signs, everywhere signs. The one erected outside our gallery/concert hall has fallen down repeatedly so mostly what people see is not the government's 'good deed' info but two posts sticking up – much like the infamous f' you sign.