$5.4 million "Asset Renewal Costs" not included in public disclosure

SPMC's response (754 KB)

REGINA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has obtained documents confirming that the government misled taxpayers on the true cost of moving Department of Learning offices into downtown Regina.

In May, 2004, the CTF exposed government documents showing the province was spending $6 million to move Learning Department staff into new downtown offices. While Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation (SPMC) provided what they claimed was the total cost of the move, they denied access to documents that would explain the business case for this investment, citing cabinet confidence.

Learning Minister Andrew Thomson defended the moves in the legislature (June 9, 2004) by citing falling asbestos in one of the original buildings. Documents provided by the department do not mention any asbestos problem and government workers continue to occupy the asbestos-laden building.

After a CTF complaint to the provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner and extensive correspondence between the CTF, the Commissioner and SPMC, SPMC finally disclosed the total amount spent on the project so far. The amount provided by SPMC adds $5.4 million in "Asset Renewal Costs," including $852,949 for consultants and $514,000 for landscaping and parking lot upgrades. The total cost of the project is now pegged at $11.4 million.

"The Department of Learning and SPMC have engaged in a deliberate effort to hide the true costs of these questionable office moves," said CTF Director David MacLean. "The CTF request for the total cost of the project was clear and concise beyond any reasonable doubt. It's appalling that the province continues to hide behind Freedom of Information laws to deny taxpayers information on how their money is being spent."

"They lied about how much they were spending on this project, and now we have no reason to believe the move will save a single tax dollar," added MacLean. "The CTF demands the government turn over the remaining documents relating to the justification of the office moves. Failing full disclosure and accountability, we can only assume there was no justification for this expenditure."

"After the CTF revealed the true cost of the Our Future is Wide Open campaign, the government promised transparency and accountability," said MacLean. "It's safe to say we can rack this up as another broken political promise."

Attention Editors: A PDF of SPMC's response is available at www.taxpayer.com