Liberal scandal has created federal lockdown, say northerners
Aboriginal groups, businesses and non-profit organizations across the North say they're feeling an unexpected impact from the Liberal government's financial disasters. Residents of the N.W.T. who deal with the federal bureaucracy say between the Gomery report released on Tuesday, earlier scandals with the Human Resources department, and criticism from the auditor general, the federal government has been crippled.Don Jaque, a publisher, printer and small businessman in Fort Smith, says one of his biggest customers was the federally-run Wood Buffalo National Park.He says this summer, following the series of financial scandals, the federal government ceased buying locally.
Purchases are now made in central Canada with a handful of companies on a standing-offer list.Jaque considers it fiscally irresponsible to buy pens from Winnipeg if they're on a nearby store shelf for the same price."The federal government has put rules in place that prevent their staff from purchasing anything locally at all," he says. "It's ludicrous. They should be doing the opposite and supporting the local economies in the North where shopping local can save them money."Jaque says while Park staff have complained that it's a waste of their time and money, they feel powerless to change it.
"The thing that is really sad is that they are so paranoid. They've created this bureaucratic system with all these rules and they're assuming their own people are dishonest," he says."They've created a lockdown situation. It's like a poison that's permeated the federal government purchasing system. It's very sad."
Aboriginal governments are also encountering hurdles.
Robert Tordiff, president of the N.W.T. Metis Nation, says the Liberal's financial scandals have caused delays in the funding for their negotiation process and programs."We have huge delays in funding for the Interim Measures Agreement which is there to provide us with resources to respond to developers in our area," he says."It's November and we haven't received payment due on April 1. We haven't had any money to undertake our work to respond to land use and water applications and so forth."Non-profit organizations such as arts, sports and advocacy groups are also experiencing difficulties.Volunteers describe the huge increase in the amount of paperwork for filling out applications, and reporting requirements afterwards, as onerous and discouraging.
Aboriginal groups, businesses and non-profit organizations across the North say they're feeling an unexpected impact from the Liberal government's financial disasters. Residents of the N.W.T. who deal with the federal bureaucracy say between the Gomery report released on Tuesday, earlier scandals with the Human Resources department, and criticism from the auditor general, the federal government has been crippled.Don Jaque, a publisher, printer and small businessman in Fort Smith, says one of his biggest customers was the federally-run Wood Buffalo National Park.He says this summer, following the series of financial scandals, the federal government ceased buying locally.
Purchases are now made in central Canada with a handful of companies on a standing-offer list.Jaque considers it fiscally irresponsible to buy pens from Winnipeg if they're on a nearby store shelf for the same price."The federal government has put rules in place that prevent their staff from purchasing anything locally at all," he says. "It's ludicrous. They should be doing the opposite and supporting the local economies in the North where shopping local can save them money."Jaque says while Park staff have complained that it's a waste of their time and money, they feel powerless to change it.
"The thing that is really sad is that they are so paranoid. They've created this bureaucratic system with all these rules and they're assuming their own people are dishonest," he says."They've created a lockdown situation. It's like a poison that's permeated the federal government purchasing system. It's very sad."
Aboriginal governments are also encountering hurdles.
Robert Tordiff, president of the N.W.T. Metis Nation, says the Liberal's financial scandals have caused delays in the funding for their negotiation process and programs."We have huge delays in funding for the Interim Measures Agreement which is there to provide us with resources to respond to developers in our area," he says."It's November and we haven't received payment due on April 1. We haven't had any money to undertake our work to respond to land use and water applications and so forth."Non-profit organizations such as arts, sports and advocacy groups are also experiencing difficulties.Volunteers describe the huge increase in the amount of paperwork for filling out applications, and reporting requirements afterwards, as onerous and discouraging.