Parliament's taxpayer honey wagons!
Good Day Readers:
Here's what we'd like to know:
(1) According to an article written by Jessica Bruno appearing in today's The Hill Times ("MP's and media flock to House Speaker Scheer's BBQ shindig at Kingsmere"), the Party Central buses were loaded with MPs and media for the half hour round trip to Kingsmere the Speaker's Official Residence. How much did it cost and who paid?
(2) The Harper Goverment has been telling Canadians far too many are out of shape and obese. Notice it's careful not to use the "f-word" (no, no not that one) to describe us. Why can't Parliamentarians walk the few blocks to the various buildings on The Hill? As an aside, the Prime Minister's suits are looking a tad tight these days
(3) Why do Senators need two of their own buses? Mr. Mike Duffy ("Duff!") who has become the poster child for all that's wrong with the Senate could certainly benefit from walking the short distance between the House of Commons and Senate!
(4) Why is the expense of removing asbestos from the House of Commons being incurred? Isn't Canada one of the few, if only, remaining country exporting the carcinogenic? We're told if handled as instructed it's perfectly safe
Should the government be serious about reducing deficits and the national debt, it will sell all but one of its honey wagon fleet (total number unknown) to be reserved exclusively for Parliamentarians/Senators with physical limitations. Everyone else can get off their considerable collective arses and walk!
It's times like this that give rise to the description of Ottawa as, Disneyland-Over-The-Rideau. It really is out of touch with reality and the rest of the country.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
andrew.sheer@parl.gc.ca
jimflaherty@parl.gc.ca
tony.clement@parl.gc.ca
mikeduffy@sen.parl.gc.ca
glover.s@parl.gc.ca
martin.pat@parl.gc.ca
____________________________________________________
Shuttle-bus extension costs taxpayers $500K
Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays, as many as four buses circle the government buildings surrounding Parliament Hill, even when Parliament is in recess and most MPs return to their home ridings. There is a separate service for senators.
Tristin Hopper
Wednesday, August 5, 2011
Parliamentary officials revealed this week that it cost $500,000 last year to shuttle MPs an extra few hundred metres, but the full cost of Parliament Hill’s miniature shuttle bus network remains a closely guarded secret.
With asbestos-removal renovations ongoing on Parliament Hill, parliamentary shuttle buses have needed to extend their range by three blocks to ferry MPs to temporary offices that are slightly farther away.
The extra commute necessitated seven new bus drivers and an extra $522,557 in funding, according to a series of minutes from the Board of Internal Economy, the governing body of the House, that were released to the media this week.
Since at least the 1980s, Canada’s parliamentarians have used a fleet of green buses to shuttle around an area the size of four city blocks. At average adult walking speeds, even the longest shuttle bus commute takes about 20 minutes by foot.
Parliamentary officials have repeatedly refused to disclose the total cost of the shuttle service. The Senate runs its own separate bus service, despite the Senate chamber being only a few steps from the House of Commons.
“It’s probably a more justifiable expense in the winter, but then again, most of us have to walk to where we go to work,” says Derek Fildebrandt, national research director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays, as many as four buses are circling the government buildings surrounding Parliament Hill. The buses even run during parliamentary recess, when most MPs are back in their home ridings. In 2002, a House of Commons standing committee mocked the short distances travelled by the vehicles by ordering a convoy of green buses to travel from one side of the Parliamentary court yard to the other.
Among parliamentary circles, the cosy green buses actually occupy the low end of the transport spectrum. The Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House and a number of cabinet ministers all have black, chauffeur-driven cars. Music has been banned on the green buses since 2002, when parliamentarians complained of the “rock music” being played by the drivers.
The Senate fleet has only two buses, but between them, they rack up more than 28,000 kilometres a year – almost enough for each bus to complete a yearly roundtrip from St. John’s, NL, to Inuvik, NWT. In 2006, the Senate announced a $1.3-million plan to outfit its fleet with three experimental hydrogen-fuelled buses. Another $1.6-million was spent establishing a nearby hydrogen refueling facility. Two years later, the vehicles were phased out.
It was not the first time the Senate spent millions on a questionable upgrade to its transportation infrastructure. In 1995, workers dug a $3.6-million marble-lined tunnel between the Centre and East blocks of Parliament to spare senators a 90-second walk through the outdoors – or a stroll through a less-luxurious utility tunnel.
Aside from police cars, state vehicles and the occasional taxi, parliamentary shuttle buses are the only vehicles allowed on Parliament Hill. Non-government vehicles had their parliamentary privileges revoked in 1997 after a deranged Quebec man drove his Jeep Cherokee up the steps to the Peace Tower.
Members of the U.S. Congress and Senate move around Capitol Hill using underground tunnels. On sunny days, elected representatives can even be seen descending the Capitol’s marble steps for a stroll.
In Australia, politicians have avoided the issue of inter-building commutes altogether by housing all parliamentary offices, committee rooms, governing chambers in one gargantuan 250,000 square metre structure dug into the middle of Canberra, the capital. However, since the facility is cut off from the rest of Canberra by a circular two-lane highway, parliamentarians are given free reign over a fleet driver-equipped “shuttles” to get them to downtown meetings.
National Post, with files from Althia Raj, Postmedia News
thopper@nationalpost.com
Here's what we'd like to know:
(1) According to an article written by Jessica Bruno appearing in today's The Hill Times ("MP's and media flock to House Speaker Scheer's BBQ shindig at Kingsmere"), the Party Central buses were loaded with MPs and media for the half hour round trip to Kingsmere the Speaker's Official Residence. How much did it cost and who paid?
(2) The Harper Goverment has been telling Canadians far too many are out of shape and obese. Notice it's careful not to use the "f-word" (no, no not that one) to describe us. Why can't Parliamentarians walk the few blocks to the various buildings on The Hill? As an aside, the Prime Minister's suits are looking a tad tight these days
(3) Why do Senators need two of their own buses? Mr. Mike Duffy ("Duff!") who has become the poster child for all that's wrong with the Senate could certainly benefit from walking the short distance between the House of Commons and Senate!
(4) Why is the expense of removing asbestos from the House of Commons being incurred? Isn't Canada one of the few, if only, remaining country exporting the carcinogenic? We're told if handled as instructed it's perfectly safe
Should the government be serious about reducing deficits and the national debt, it will sell all but one of its honey wagon fleet (total number unknown) to be reserved exclusively for Parliamentarians/Senators with physical limitations. Everyone else can get off their considerable collective arses and walk!
It's times like this that give rise to the description of Ottawa as, Disneyland-Over-The-Rideau. It really is out of touch with reality and the rest of the country.
Sincerely,
Clare L. Pieuk
andrew.sheer@parl.gc.ca
jimflaherty@parl.gc.ca
tony.clement@parl.gc.ca
mikeduffy@sen.parl.gc.ca
glover.s@parl.gc.ca
martin.pat@parl.gc.ca
____________________________________________________


Tristin Hopper
Wednesday, August 5, 2011
Parliamentary officials revealed this week that it cost $500,000 last year to shuttle MPs an extra few hundred metres, but the full cost of Parliament Hill’s miniature shuttle bus network remains a closely guarded secret.
With asbestos-removal renovations ongoing on Parliament Hill, parliamentary shuttle buses have needed to extend their range by three blocks to ferry MPs to temporary offices that are slightly farther away.
The extra commute necessitated seven new bus drivers and an extra $522,557 in funding, according to a series of minutes from the Board of Internal Economy, the governing body of the House, that were released to the media this week.
Since at least the 1980s, Canada’s parliamentarians have used a fleet of green buses to shuttle around an area the size of four city blocks. At average adult walking speeds, even the longest shuttle bus commute takes about 20 minutes by foot.

“It’s probably a more justifiable expense in the winter, but then again, most of us have to walk to where we go to work,” says Derek Fildebrandt, national research director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays, as many as four buses are circling the government buildings surrounding Parliament Hill. The buses even run during parliamentary recess, when most MPs are back in their home ridings. In 2002, a House of Commons standing committee mocked the short distances travelled by the vehicles by ordering a convoy of green buses to travel from one side of the Parliamentary court yard to the other.
Among parliamentary circles, the cosy green buses actually occupy the low end of the transport spectrum. The Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House and a number of cabinet ministers all have black, chauffeur-driven cars. Music has been banned on the green buses since 2002, when parliamentarians complained of the “rock music” being played by the drivers.
The Senate fleet has only two buses, but between them, they rack up more than 28,000 kilometres a year – almost enough for each bus to complete a yearly roundtrip from St. John’s, NL, to Inuvik, NWT. In 2006, the Senate announced a $1.3-million plan to outfit its fleet with three experimental hydrogen-fuelled buses. Another $1.6-million was spent establishing a nearby hydrogen refueling facility. Two years later, the vehicles were phased out.
It was not the first time the Senate spent millions on a questionable upgrade to its transportation infrastructure. In 1995, workers dug a $3.6-million marble-lined tunnel between the Centre and East blocks of Parliament to spare senators a 90-second walk through the outdoors – or a stroll through a less-luxurious utility tunnel.
Aside from police cars, state vehicles and the occasional taxi, parliamentary shuttle buses are the only vehicles allowed on Parliament Hill. Non-government vehicles had their parliamentary privileges revoked in 1997 after a deranged Quebec man drove his Jeep Cherokee up the steps to the Peace Tower.
Members of the U.S. Congress and Senate move around Capitol Hill using underground tunnels. On sunny days, elected representatives can even be seen descending the Capitol’s marble steps for a stroll.
In Australia, politicians have avoided the issue of inter-building commutes altogether by housing all parliamentary offices, committee rooms, governing chambers in one gargantuan 250,000 square metre structure dug into the middle of Canberra, the capital. However, since the facility is cut off from the rest of Canberra by a circular two-lane highway, parliamentarians are given free reign over a fleet driver-equipped “shuttles” to get them to downtown meetings.
National Post, with files from Althia Raj, Postmedia News
thopper@nationalpost.com
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