WATCH: B.C.’s Auditor General is being asked to look at what appear to be “luxury” expenses by bureaucrats at the Children and Families Ministry. John Daly has the details.
B.C.’s embattled Ministry of Children and Family Development is facing a new controversy, as questions are being raised over what staff are charging for on government credit cards.
“It’s a slap in the face to the public, quite frankly, and a big slap in the face to the clientele of the ministry, the most vulnerable in our society,” says executive director of Integrity BC.
Publicly available disclosures of credit card use within the ministries show hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on luxury items. These include $3,500 spent on spas and resorts, and $20,000 on golf courses – 65 per cent of all money government ministries spent on golf courses last year.
In addition, of the $20,000 spent on food by ministries, $12,000 came from the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
“If some of those expenses are used for more luxurious items for staff themselves, that’s always a concern. I would urge the ministry and its financial staff to look at that,” says Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the B.C. Representative for Children and Youth, who has asked the auditor general to review spending by ministry staff.
While Minister Stephanie Cadieux isn’t doing interviews about the charges, in an email her staff said 90 per cent of the ministry’s $1.4 billion budget goes directly to children, families and communities. And they say the more luxurious times are typically for meetings, staff attending conferences and staff appreciation gifts.
That answers failed to satisfy NDP Caucus House Leader Mike Farnworth.
“The priorities of the Ministry is to be looking after families and be following court orders. Not wasting money on five-star hotels, not wasting money on helicopter rides. They should be looking after kids. That’s their job.”
WATCH: Provincial watchdog Dermod Travis of Integrity BC discusses the numbers he uncovered and what it all means
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