An open letter to Colin Craig!

Colin Craig
Prairie Director (Saskatchewan/Manitoba)
212 - 428 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0E2
Telephone: (204) 982-2150/1-800-772-9955
Fax: (204) 982-2154
ccraig@taxpayer.com

Dear Mr. Craig:

We read with great interest your comments in the recent Winnipeg Free Press article (reproduced below) calling for greater disclosure of expenses by elected politicians.

The Manitoba Metis Federation has an annual budget of approximately $25 million over 90% of which comes from the federal government the rest from a handful of provincial departments - we say "approximately" because we are unable to find detailed financial information on its website (www.mmf.mb.ca).

On June 10 of this year the MMF will hold its province-wide general vote. However, in researching its constitution (http://www.mmf.mb.ca/images/pdf/federation/constitution.pdf), specifically those sections of the election bylaws that:

(1) Set a ceiling on dollar amounts candidates are allowed to spend
(2) Require disclosure of campaign expenditures by source
(3) Mandate production of this information
(4) Establish penalties for non-compliance

Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk

ccraig@taxpayer.com
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
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Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Taxpayer federation pushes candidates for financial disclosure
By: Bartley Kives







The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on mayoral candidate Judy Wasylycia-Leis to say how she spent $2 million in expenses during her final decade as the NDP MP for Winnipeg North — and also wants Mayor Sam Katz to follow through on a push to place Winnipeg politicians' expenses online.

CTF Manitoba Director Colin Craig has issued a public call for Wasylycia-Leis to disclose the details of her spending, as only the total amount of expenses incurred by MPs are made public.

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At her campaign launch on Tuesday, Wasylycia-Leis pledged to make city hall more transparent. Craig said she should "put her money where her mouth is" and disclose her MP expenses, which is something only one MP — a Liberal from Ontario — has done.

He said he made a similar request of Councillor John Orlikow during the 2009 byelection in River Heights-Fort Garry. Orlikow served as a Winnipeg School Board trustee before joining city council.

"If someone is going to jump from one level of government to another, it's fair to ask what they did with public funds in their previous position," Craig said in a statement, noting he found nothing unusual about Orlikow's expenses — but wants to make the process of getting the information easier for the general public.

Craig also said he'd like the City of Winnipeg to post the details of all expenses incurred by Mayor Sam Katz and all 15 city councillors. In 2009, the Free Press and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed separate freedom-of-information requests to obtain details of council expenses, not just totals for various categories.

City Auditor Brian Whiteside has since recommended all members of council publish their expenses online. But a plan to implement this policy has been delayed by several council committees.

"It's disappointing. You shouldn't have to go to freedom-of-information legislation to make a request," Craig said.

In 2009, Katz's office spent $902,000 on expenses such as staff salaries, employee benefits, auto allowances and office supplies. That information is listed on the city's website and is broken down by spending category — but not by receipt.