NL NDP Leader Jim Dinn (St. John’s Centre) is questioning why the government awarded three contracts to outside communications consultants, totaling $244,000, while both the public and the media have repeatedly expressed frustration over the government’s lack of communication.
Three contracts have been awarded to Enterprise Canada, a consulting firm with close ties to the Conservative Party, since May. None of the contracts were publicly tendered, instead being awarded through a “limited call” process or on the basis that there was only one available source. Dinn says it is another example of the PC government spending taxpayers’ money on communications consultants while continuing to fall short on communicating openly and transparently with the public.
“We have Dr. Des Whalen being paid $275,000 out of MCP to work on healthcare, yet there has been no meaningful improvements to our system. Government has spent $244,000 over just three months on outside communications consultants, yet it still takes public outcry before a minister will speak on an issue,” said Dinn. “If we’re spending this kind of money on consultants, people should expect results. Instead, it’s becoming harder than ever to hold this government accountable because it refuses to communicate openly with the public. When media outlets are publicly expressing difficulty getting ministers to answer questions on major issues facing our province, you know there’s a serious problem.”
“I would point the PC government to the NDP platform from the recent election, where we showed how to save public money by cutting excessive spending on consultants and relying more on internal expertise,” said Dinn. “For a government that campaigned on fiscal responsibility, it’s hard to justify spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on communications contracts while avoiding the media and failing to communicate with the public. Is this really their idea of responsible spending?”
“Yet again, we have a government that is prioritizing their friends and not being accountable. We just saw this over 10 years under the Liberals. It’s like the old ABC laundry detergent commercials. Do you see the difference? I don’t. It’s time to implement our Transparency Platform from the election and hold government accountable.”
The contracts are attached.