Contrarian reader Ritchie Simpson asks: What is it with civic politicians in the Maritimes? They’ve jumped on the concert bandwagon with abandon and are flinging money around the way Keith Moon used to fling furniture. The long serving and long suffering mayor of Summerside is a tad closer to the chopping block than HRM’s potentate but it’s troubling the ease with which processes are ignored and checks are written. The Roman circuses were used to keep the civic populace quiet, peaceful, and accommodating. Maybe it’s time we threw a few politicians to the lions....

24 March, 2011

In response to this, Contrarian reader Corey Clamp asks: Another question, albeit more uncomfortable: Why does it seem acceptable to most that these funds have been lost? We often hear people talking about abuses of our social assistance system: EI fraud, welfare mothers collecting our hard earned tax dollars for nothing, etc., etc. I work in community and have witnessed some of these 'frauds' that others complain of (food money being used for power? Oh my!), but I also witness every day the daunting bureaucracy these individuals must face in order to get their $514 to $850 dollars/month. We seem to worry that...

23 March, 2011

A Halifax friend writes: When you see the rigamarole HRM Council goes through each year during budget time to decide which non-profit organizations will receive Community Grants of as little as a few hundred dollars, I find it hard to believe it never occurred to Mayor Kelly that he should consult council before endorsing a single $400,000 grant to Power Promotional Events Inc., a for-profit company. Surely Kelly would be aware of that organizations wishing to obtain a community grant are required to meet very stringent criteria and submit a formal application which is thoroughly vetted by staff from several different Municipal...

22 March, 2011