A Conservative spending spree?

When Parliament officially broke for the summer on June 21, I had a hunch that the government’s game plan would include a summer where various ministers made themselves as visible as possible in order to shore up some flagging political support in certain regions of the country.

And indeed, in just the first two weeks of summer, the Conservative government has had its press release writers working overtime. There have been 78 press releases — that’s right 78 in just 13 days — in which it announced, re-announced, or took credit for more than $5-billion in spending.

Now, it’s true, that the lion’s share of that spending comes in just three announcements, all made by the Prime Minister: $3.1–billion today for a navy frigate upgrade; $1.5–billion today for an ethanol program; and $207–million for a highway improvement program.

But, as I try to show in this story, the spending announcements come in all shapes and sizes and have a distinct regional slant.

Here’s some:

• Ontario Conservative MP Scott Reid announced that the Royal Canadian Legion in the town of Napanee in eastern Ontario was getting $1,500 for a parade it wants to hold in September.
• Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn, who represents a riding on Vancouver Island, announced that his government was giving $3,500 to the Galiano Concert Society, a volunteer group that puts on music concerts in Lunn's riding.
• James Moore, a Conservative who represents a Vancouver-area riding, handed over a cheque for $5,000 to the Port Moody Heritage Society so it could put on a Canada Day event.
• Peter MacKay announced $500,000 would come out of something called the “Innovative Communities Fund” run by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to build a soccer stadium in Stellarton, NS, which is in his riding.
• $267,500 for an Iron Man Competition to be held in Corner Brook, Nfld.