WATCH ABOVE: Halifax Councillor Brad Johns was given a Teddy Waste Award on Wednesday for buying a $25,000 robotic Christmas tree.
HALIFAX – A Halifax-area regional councillor has received a dubious award for his decision to spend discretionary funds on a talking Christmas tree.
Coun. Brad Johns, who represents the Middle and Upper Sackville, Beaver Bank and Lucasville regions, was given a Teddy Waste Award on Wednesday by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for his $25,000 expenditure. He was the nationwide winner in the municipal category.
Johns took the money money from a $94,000 account each councillor can spend annually to address the needs of their constituents.
The tree, which made its debut in December, encourages children to sing along to Christmas songs or dance to the beat of the music.
Johns said the tree, which is expected to last about a decade, is cheaper when its cost is spread out over its lifetime.
“It works out to $1,800 a year for the life of the tree,” he told Global News in December. “Sackville as a community spends $12,000 a year on fireworks.”
He had asked people to bring food and toy donations during their tree visits because rules prohibited him from donating the money he spent buying the tree directly to charity.
In a press release, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Aaron Wudrick criticized Johns for not looking out for the best interests of the people he represents.
“The residents of Middle and Upper Sackville must be already awash in public amenities,” he said. “How else could a politician possibly arrive at the conclusion that the purchase of a giant robotic Christmas tree would be at the top of his constituents’ wish list?”
With files from Ray Bradshaw, Global News
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