Is a seniors program being used for a little pork barrel politics?

Budget 2008 set aside $15 million for the New Horizons Seniors Program (NHSP). The NHSP has been around for a while. The previous Liberal government started it up. Right now, the program is administed by Human Resources Development Canada.

Julie Vaux, the director of communications for HRDC minister Diane Finley, says:

Allocation for this funding is not politically motivated, in fact review committees in each province and territory play an important role in making recommendations for project funding. The committees consist of members who are active in seniors’ and community issues. They also include representatives from the federal and provincial or territorial governments. Also, the parameters of the Calls-for-Proposals under the NHSP have not changed since the program began. Since the beginning of this program, the NHSP has funded over 5,000 projects in several communities across Canada, helping seniors to bring their leadership, energy, and skills to benefit our communities. We are proud to continue to support seniors in strengthening our communities and building our country.

You should also know that 60% of projects funded under NHSP Community participation and leadership funding were in opposition held ridings. They are all available online:

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/community_partnerships/seniors/nhsp/cpl/ap/index.shtml

This week, Canwest News Service distributed a story under my byline in which I quoted Kevin Gaudet, national director of the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, saying this program was “a waste of money.”
I also noted that the government had issued 32 press releases this year announcing funding from this program and of those 32, 31 were announcements about funding of projects in Conservative ridings.
Since we published that story, here are the press releases this week.

• Conservative MP Royal Galipeau announced that taxpayers would kick in $25,000 in his Ottawa-area riding so that seniors could participate in several activities including “a film on the history of Orleans, an after-school reading program that will partner seniors with elementary school children, and a computer technology class for seniors taught by university students and community volunteers.”
• Conservative MP Dave Van Kesteren announced that taxpayers would kick in $48,000 in his riding for two separate projects. First, the money will be used to create a video to demonstrate seven exercise seniors can do “that will build strength and balance to prevent falls.” The other $23,000 will be used so that “seniors who are knowledgeable in gardening to transfer their knowledge of planting, seeding, cultivating and canning to youth in the community.”
• Conservative MP Colin Mayes announced $19,000 of taxpayers money so that seniors could develop a mentorship program with local youth.
• Conservative MP Patrick Brown announced $24,608 so that seniors could learn about “a variety of leisure activities, including art programs, walking and nature hiking, gardening and plant identification, and other outdoor recreation activities.”
• Conservative MP Barry Devolin announced $25,000 for a “Computers with Seniors” program.
• Devolin also announced $19,000 for seniors in his riding to create a photography exhibit about elder abuse.
• Devolin also announced $25,000 so seniors in his riding could paint, draw, and take some photos.

Vaux may be correct in saying money is also flowing to opposition-held ridings but the government, it seems to me, doesn't want to draw any attention to that fact.

For the entire year now, there have been 37 press releases about the NHSP and 36 have been about funding in Conservative-held ridings.

It was similar story in 2008.

Check out the entire HRDC press release output for 2008.

By my count, there were 57 press releases issued by HRDC in all of 2008 announcing funding out of the New Horizons' program. Of all the of those, 44 or 77 per cent were press releases calling attention to funding of projects in a riding held by a Conservative or in a riding, such as Vaudreuil-Dorion, that the Conservatives were very keen to take in the election we all expected some time later in the year. (Indeed, former Sen. Michael Fortier issued three or more press releases from Vaudreuil-Dorion announcing funding from New Horizons. Fortier quit the Senate to run, unsuccessfully, in Vaudreuil-Soulanges.)

Sometimes, it is true, a press release was issued announced funding of projects in ridings held by non-Conservatives but, even then, the circumstances look suspicious: The government, for example, announced money for seniors in Kitchener, a riding they would, in fact, steal from the Liberals.

In some cases, a release was issued about the the funding of projects for a whole region. Joy Smith did that March 7, 2008, announcing that 48 organizations across Manitoba would get money — but while the government this week issued three separate releases for each of Conservative MP Barry Devolin's projects, the government never issued a press release for any of the Manitoba projects — except the separate one when when one organization in Smith's riding got some money.