Some waste just leaves you shaking your head in disbelief.

Bob Mackin, through a Freedom of Information request, dug out the costs of a plaque and ceremony put up by Minister of Transportation Todd Stone to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Coquihalla Highway.

No, not the opening itself - but the 30th anniversary. From Mackin's story:

A plaque that commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Coquihalla Highway cost taxpayers $65,000 and understates the number of people that worked on the project, according to documents released under Freedom of Information.

The plaque, unveiled May 25 at the Britton Creek rest area, names Premier Christy Clark and Transport Minister Todd Stone, but none of those who were originally involved in the project. The expenditure required an urgent internal approval memo and the plaque’s installers were imported from Edmonton at a premium.

Documents show that APS Architectural Precast Structures of Langley issued a $48,000 quote for the monument on April 6, but that did not include the bronze plaque or its delivery and installation. A day later, VSA Highway Maintenance estimated the total cost of the project would be $68,219.42. On April 25, the ministry issued an emergency/additional work approval for $65,000.

Planning was complicated by the 1 metre of snow on the site with banks in excess of 2 m. The plaque needed to be at least 3 m from the paved trail edge so as not to interfere with snow clearing in the winter, according to emails written by Shawn Clough, senior project manager, for the South Interior Region.

Installation was foreseen as early as May 10. The ministry settled on a May 26 unveiling date, but that was rescheduled for May 25 to accommodate federal officials. A May 9 email from Mike Lorimer, the ministry’s regional director for the Southern Interior, to communications director Ryan Jabs said, “Ryan, we can do this, however the crew to install the plaque has to travel from Edmonton to do the installation. They will have to travel over the [Victoria Day] long weekend to do this work so we will incur a cost premium, but it can be done.”

Documents indicate that the plaque subcontractor was Behrends Group, an Edmonton-based bronze signage specialist hired by the Queen’s Printer.

The plaque acknowledges “the hundreds of men and women who built this important connection.” But the provincial news release issued on May 25 said “over 10,000 workers contributed to the building of this project through some of the most challenging terrain in the province.”

The $848 million Fraser Valley-to-Okanagan highway was commemorated on the day it opened on May 16, 1986, with a plaque at Hope that named then-Premier Bill Bennett, Transport Minister Alex Fraser, MLA Tom Waterland and Hope Mayor Bud Gardner.

Government should really live by the motto: "Don't spend money on stupid stuff." This certainly fails that simple test.