"Hopefully dinner guests at the Consulate General's residence rest comfortably in one of the 16 chairs that cost taxpayers $1,050 each," said Wudrick.
In addition to
chairs, the Consulate General's residence also purchased a $7,500 walnut
credenza--also known as a sideboard--from Vancouver-based
SwitzerCultCreative as part of an order totalling $24,990. The
official government threshold for sourcing non-competitive contracts is $25,000.
Wudrick observed that the consulate also purchased a
sideboard for $1,067 (85% less) and eight dining
chairs for $305 apiece (71% less) from
Tequila Kola, which bills itself as "Hong Kong's iconic home store."
"Our missions abroad can still have nice furniture without breaking the bank," said Wudrick. "It just takes a little common sense--and greater respect for taxpayer dollars."
To view the documents obtained by the CTF under the Access to Information Act, click
here. For comparison purposes, invoices in Hong Kong dollars were converted to Canadian dollars using
current exchange rates.