Newton-North Delta MP Sukh Dhaliwal exposes the government of Canada website boondoggle

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA - Sukh Dhaliwal has finally received an answer to his written question to the Harper government, inquiring about the amount of money spent on refashioning the Government of Canada information website with Conservative blue colours and links that can be found on the party’s site.

“The bill has finally been mailed out to hard working Canadian families,” Dhaliwal said earlier today, “56, 000 tax dollars have been shelled out for the conversion of a non-partisan information website to a de facto party organ for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives. It would take the average Canadian more than two years to make that kind of money. This is outrageous, coming from a government that campaigned on supposedly cleaning up government waste, mismanagement and corruption.”

Dhaliwal took issue with the makeover of the website, which occurred in April of this year. His constituents had notified him of the Conservative blue graphics, the partisan tone and the links to press releases that could also been found on the party’s website. As Ajax MP Mark Holland noted earlier this year, other national governments, including the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, avoid being blatantly partisan in their site designs, as did the previous Liberal government. (www.firstgov.gov ; www.direct.gov.uk ; www.australia.gov.au).

The official answer, signed by Human Resources and Social Development Minister Diane Finley, stated that “costs of $56, 200 were incurred for the purchase of new images, focus testing and additional hours for staff and technical support.”

“What is particularly absurd to me,” Dhaliwal added, “is the money spent for focus testing. How many Canadians do you have to hear from to know that this is an unconscionable waste of money and small minded politicking at its worst?”

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Media contact:
John Delacourt
613 863-7854