Finance Minister says feds won't shelve Crombie report
Feb 05, 2008 - 08:26 AM
By Jillian Follert
OSHAWA -- Council's recent decision to spend tens of thousands of dollars hiring a PR firm to advance the City's vision for the harbour isn't sitting well with the feds.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who is also the MP for Whitby-Oshawa, reacted with surprise and disappointment last week after learning council had voted to spend $134,675 on a public relations strategy orchestrated by Fleishman Hillard Canada Inc.
"People expect elected people to work for their money and get the job done for them and we don't need to hire large lobbying firms that originate in the United States and spend taxpayers' money for one level of government to talk to another level of government. I'm against that," Flaherty said Monday. "We don't need lobbyists between us. If the mayor wants to talk to me he can pick up the phone."
At its Jan. 28 meeting, council was presented with the option of spending $500,000 on a two-phase PR campaign that would put pressure on the federal government to deliver on the City's vision for the harbour.
Councillors were bitterly divided on the issue, with half saying the City needs to play hardball as other harbour stakeholders launch their own PR efforts, while the other councillors want to wait until David Crombie -- hired by the feds to mediate the waterfront issue -- comes out with his recommendations later this month.
In the end, they voted narrowly to spend $134,675 on Phase 1 of the campaign -- Phase 2 was scrapped.
Mayor John Gray was pleased with the outcome, saying the City needs an edge to make sure Mr. Crombie's recommendations don't gather dust on a shelf.
But, Mr. Flaherty was quick to brush off the notion the feds might not move on the report, saying anyone who believes that is "talking nonsense."
"Who wanted Crombie to do the report?" he said. "I did. I'm the Minister of Finance for the Government of Canada. I'm the local member," he said. "I wanted to get his expertise and his assessment on it. The last thing we're going to do is discard the report."
When asked if Mr. Flaherty's assurances set his mind at ease, Mayor Gray said he is pleased the PR firm issue has prompted all parties to restate their commitment to the harbour.
But he still believes hiring a firm was the right thing to do.
"It's not just about talking to MPs," the mayor said. "It's about making sure the bureaucrats and Transport Canada hear us. The harbour users and other stakeholders have already beaten us to the punch and hired their own PR firms. All we're trying to do is make sure our position is strongly represented, too."
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