The fuel that makes your government run!

They like their pizza, doughnuts and coffee in Victoria, the CBC website has released some of the uh, highlights of governmental spending in BC last year. Taken from the report of the Office of the Comptroller General, the unusual items ordered on the public dime make for a particularly unhealthy food group if ever there were one.

It was a year which saw the pizza industry find 128,000 delivered to its coffers from late night snacking, where 19,000 dollars worth of doughnuts were nibbled on and 51,ooo dollars worth of Starbucks coffee helped to keep our government operating.

Considering the diet of governmental recourse, it all gives us cause to wonder if perhaps Homer Simpson might not be the perfect MLA?


$128,000 for pizza: Frivolous or valid? NDP asks
B.C. finance minister says all charges are scrutinized, legitimate
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 9:17 AM PT
CBC News

The B.C. government spent $128,000 for takeout pizza, nearly $19,000 for doughnuts and more than $51,000 for Starbucks coffee last year, the NDP says.

It's all there, New Democrat MLA Guy Gentner said Tuesday, in the list of credit card billings released last week as part of the government's public accounts.

'We have a pattern of releasing all of the purchase card information to the public so that anyone can … ensure taxpayer dollars are not being misspent.'— Finance Minister Carole Taylor
"So you look at these expenses," Gentner said. "Are they frivolous expenses? Are they part of business? Perhaps."

The 1,221 page list includes charges for fast food and fine dining, flowers, balloons, greeting cards, even some liquor. And page after page of travel bookings.

"When you're … the Ministry of Income Assistance and … the deputy ministers have a penchant for fine Asian food, meanwhile your clients are diving in dumpsters at Main and Hastings — it's a double standard," Gentner said.

And the total of $60 million in credit card charges is up from $52 million the previous year, he noted.

But Finance Minister Carole Taylor said all the charges are carefully scrutinized every month and are legitimate expenses.

"A number of the pizza charges — and I'm sure no one in the public would begrudge this — were for the firemen working on the fires that they were protecting our property and our lives and they have to be fed and taken care of when they're in the field," Taylor said.

The New Democrats will follow up with Freedom of Information requests to see if the government can justify all the expenses, Gentner said.

But Taylor said she welcomes the scrutiny.

"The system works well. We're very pleased that we have a pattern of releasing all of the purchase card information to the public so that anyone can ask the questions you're asking and ensure taxpayer dollars are not being misspent."