WINNIPEG — It was a hit with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) doesn’t think a photo-op with the police helicopter is the best use of public dollars.
On Thursday Air-1 landed on a parking lot next to Investors Group field.
ARV-1, the newly purchased armored vehicle, pulled up next to it.
Winnipeg police said it was a training exercise but it also included a photo-op with the Bombers.
Dozens of photos with players posing inside the helicopter were posted online.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said the use of highly priced equipment for promotion is a luxury the police department can’t afford considering financial challenges with salaries, overtime and staffing.
“If we dialed back the photo ops it might help on the overtime, it might help finding the money on stuff we really need like the high-tech cameras on that machinery,” CTF prairie director Todd MacKay said.
In an email statement police said the cost of landing Air-1 at IGF was “approximately $100” plus fuel costs for ARV-1, and that the helicopter regularly participates in PR activities.
“We try our best to combine community engagement with training to create realistic scenarios. If Air1 is dispatched to an emergency ground units must be trained to interact with the pilots in the event the helicopter must be set down quickly, and this event provided a good opportunity for us to train for an offsite landing near IGF.”
The WPS spokesperson also said that its PR activities in the past have included the police community golf tournament, half-marathon, RCAF training and the Stonewall Touch a Truck.
“Of course you have to have some outreach, you have to be members of the community,” Mackay said. “But I don’t think showing off the cool gear for the Bombers is the best way to do it.”
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