WINNIPEG: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) helped a frustrated government employee blow the whistle today on a “rooftop oasis” at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s (WRHA) new administrative office on Main Street. The WRHA spent $37,712.74 on a BBQ, planters and picnic tables on the rooftop patio despite incorporating an indoor lunchroom into the building’s design.
Meanwhile, down the road at the Misericordia Hospital, its volunteer foundation is out fundraising in the cold to build a rooftop patio for long term care patients to access.
“Why is it that patients and taxpayers have to fundraise for a rooftop patio at the Misericordia Hospital, but bureaucrats at the WRHA simply used tax dollars for their own private rooftop patio,” asked CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig. “Couldn’t they have fundraised or had their union pay for it?”
“An outraged government employee drew our attention to the WRHA’s new rooftop patio and we agree, it’s a case of one set of rules for taxpayers and another set for tax spenders,” added Craig. “The building has a 525 square foot lunch room. Did they really need to spend $37,712 on a BBQ, planters and picnic tables? What about the government’s massive deficit and long waiting lists?”
To view the FOI response, click here.
Colin Craig, Prairie Director
