Victoria city council’s handling of taxpayers’ dollars has landed them on the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s annual naughty list this Christmas.
According to the federation, Victoria council “lurched from one mistake to another.”
The federation cited a number of projects which landed council on the naughty list, including the Johnson Street Bridge, the cost of which is looming closer to the $100 million mark; partnering in the Seaterra project, in which the city spent money after the sewage project was killed; spending money on an interactive musical railing installed in Bastion Square parkade stairwells; and purchasing the building that houses the Victoria Visitors Centre in the Inner Harbour for $8 million from the province.
“All of these blunders distract from the real issues facing Victoria: homelessness and downtown shops going out of business,” said CTF B.C. director Jordan Bateman.
Others on the naughty list include Surrey city council, Premier Christy Clark and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
On the federation’s nice list are Mayors Derek Corrigan, Michael Smith and Nicole Read for standing up for taxpayers in the TransLink sales tax debate, and the B.C. Legislature, after they began posting MLA expense receipts.
