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Canada needs change to a new government – a new government that will bring accountability to Ottawa, a new government that will get on with addressing the real priorities of ordinary working people and their families. Priorities like cleaning up government, cutting the GST, and cracking down on crime. Priorities that will move Canada forward after 12 years of scandal and inaction.
Today I want to talk about a key plank in our plan for Canada: ensuring taxpayers receive value for money when they send their tax dollars to Ottawa – in particular ensuring value for money in polling and advertising. Canadians work hard for their money, and when they send their tax dollars to Ottawa they have a right to expect value for money from polling and advertising. This means good work done in the public interest, and done at a good price. And it also means that taxpayers have a right to see what their government did with their money. It’s not too much to expect: quality work done in the public interest, at a good price, that is accessible to the people who paid for it. Unfortunately, that’s not the way Ottawa has been working.
In chapter 5 of the report that uncovered the sponsorship scandal, the Auditor General reported that the government’s treatment of polling had “similar problems” to those uncovered with sponsorship contracts. The Auditor General reported in chapter 5 that government polls – supposedly conducted for non-partisan government departments – often featured decidedly political questions. And most troubling, chapter 5 revealed the existence of contracts that were fulfilled by “verbal reports”. That’s right – verbal reports.
Reports that cannot be accessed through Access to Information. Reports that cannot be assessed in “value for money” audits. Reports whose true and eventual purpose cannot be audited. These are not opposition allegations – they are the specific concerns raised by the Auditor General herself. In her report, she criticized the use of government polls for political purposes. She also harshly criticized the practice of providing only “verbal reports”. This practice of polls by friends, polls with partisan questions, polls with verbal-only reports, was particularly widespread in Paul Martin’s department of finance. Here is what the auditor general had to say:
“during the period covered by our audit, there were eight research projects in which Earnscliffe was involved. Only three of these projects were the subject of written reports. For the five others, there were verbal reports.”
This means that, according to the government’s own records, Paul Martin spent somewhere between $75,000 and $750,000 taxpayer dollars for which only a verbal report was provided. What is most disturbing is that Mr. Martin deliberately excluded the Auditor General’s investigation of polling from the terms of reference of the Gomery commission. And it has become increasingly clear why Paul Martin excluded polling contracts from the Gomery inquiry – he wanted to ensure that his own office was not subject to investigation by Judge Gomery.
Paul Martin did not stop relying on verbal reports when he became Prime Minister. In February 2005, the department of Indian and Northern Affairs hired a consultant for $132,000 and specified in the contract that "presentations shall be oral with supporting material provided to aid comprehension but not retained by the department." No published results, no written reports. Just talk.
$132,000 is a lot of money.
It represents more than the income of two Canadian families; four elderly couples; or four single parent families. It represents the total taxes paid by 27 single working Canadians earning $40,000. No report that you can access. No report that can be audited. That’s not value for money, and it’s got to stop.
This morning I am announcing accountability reforms that will end the practice of verbal reports and ensure value for money for the people who work hard, pay their taxes and play by the rules. A new Conservative government will require that all government polls are published within six months of completion. We will stop all partisan polling with taxpayer dollars. We will ensure open, competitive bidding for all public opinion research, we will initiate an independent review of the abuses of public opinion research that were raised by the Auditor General, and we will end the practice of verbal reports and ensure written results and reports for all work. Taxpayers expect nothing less. They deserve nothing less. We will do these things to re-establish trust and accountability in government. They’re part of the Federal Accountability Act – our plan to clean up government. The first thing we’ll do. On January 23rd, Canadians have a choice – a choice for a change.
On January 23th, stand up for clean government, stand up for accountability, stand up for Canada.
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For further information: Conservative Party Press Office (613) 755-2191
