Gov't/CF Hospitality: how much? who approves?

[Edward Campbell]

Oh, the horror; the shame of it all! See this recent scandal! Free wine! Probably pretty good wine, too ... reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-personally-approved-22000-hospitality-tab-for-visiting-european-bureaucrats/article2350220/

Harper personally approved $22,000 hospitality tab for visiting European bureaucrats

DEAN BEEBY

OTTAWA— The Canadian Press
Published Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012

Prime Minister Stephen Harper personally approved a $21,865 hospitality tab for visiting European bureaucrats last fall even as the government was preaching fiscal restraint.

Newly disclosed documents show the three-day meeting featured a welcome reception at the National Gallery of Canada, two lunches, and a formal dinner at Rideau Hall – all of them featuring free wine.

The final tab for the Oct. 18-20 event was almost $112,000, including travel, hotels, musical entertainment and $2,250 in gifts for delegates.

Visitors included a six-person delegation from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development secretariat in Paris, who joined Mr. Harper and Canadian public servants to discuss how to manage major government cuts in spending.

The so-called OECD Centres of Government meeting has rotated among various member countries since 1993, and for the first time it was Canada’s turn. Wayne Wouters, clerk of the Privy Council and Canada’s highest-ranking public servant, was host.

Of the 45 people in attendance, 10 were from the Canadian government, the remainder from the 33 other OECD countries or the secretariat. Mr. Harper himself participated in a roundtable discussion.

Partly because budgeted hospitality costs exceeded the $5,000 threshold imposed by government rules, Mr. Harper had to personally pre-approve the expected bill as head of the Privy Council Office. The prime minister’s signature was also necessary to OK the free alcohol.

“Every effort is being made to contain costs associated with this event,” Mr. Wouters wrote to Mr. Harper on Sept. 11, asking for his approval.

“As host, Canada is expected to provide a certain level of hospitality, including a reception to welcome delegates on the evening of their arrival and an official dinner.”

He added: “For reasons of courtesy and protocol, alcoholic beverages will be offered at the welcome reception, the official dinner, and the two lunches.”

Mr. Wouters also noted that the budget for the reception “exceeds the maximum cost per person” as set by Treasury Board policy, yet another reason Mr. Harper had to sign off on the event.

The posh reception at the National Gallery of Canada cost $160 per person, more than three times the approved Treasury Board maximum of $46.

Documents related to the event were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

In the end, the final hospitality tab was trimmed to $16,000, said Raymond Rivet, spokesman for the Privy Council Office. He said the bill for the entire event was far lower than the initial budget of $300,000.

The OECD hospitality tab is among the highest for any minister since the Tories first came to power in 2006.

Peter MacKay approved a $16,800 tab for Passport Canada staff in 2007, when he was foreign minister. And Mr. Harper approved one for Privy Council Office staff in 2010 for $7,400. Neither included alcohol.

Such tabs are not proactively posted as normally required on government websites because they are departmental, rather than personal, which makes comparisons difficult. The big Harper and MacKay tabs were only revealed through Access to Information Act requests.

The OECD event was held after the Harper government ordered dozens of federal departments and agencies to submit detailed plans by Oct. 3 to cut as much as 10 per cent of their budgets, for savings of up to $8-billion annually.

The meeting of OECD delegates included discussions about how member governments should implement deficit-fighting cuts.

“Participants agreed that restructuring, a difficult and challenging process, should be rapid, comprehensive and evidence-based, rather than piecemeal,” say minutes of the meeting.

“The watchword for restructuring should be ‘transparency.’ ... Visible signs of government openness and integrity are important to garner support for difficult choices.”

The Tories’ current program review, led by Tony Clement, the Treasury Board president, has been widely criticized for being conducted behind closed doors in an information vacuum.

The planned cuts are expected to be revealed in the coming federal budget, though a recent Treasury Board memo called on bureaucrats to leave details out of key departmental reports this spring.

The Harper government is paying consultant Deloitte Inc. almost $90,000 a day for advice on how to manage the cuts.

"Harper personally approved $22,000 hospitality tab for visiting European bureaucrats" and then, I'll betcha, he went out and mugged handicapped aboriginal children and indigent seniors to get the money!

Imagine: hospitality for senior officials who are negotiating solutions to global economic issues ... shocking. And there were several events, "all of them featuring free wine." Damnit, when these visiting dignitaries to to Rideau Hall there ought to be cash bar ...

 

[FSTO]

With this robocall issue the media smells blood in the water and they seem to be hell bent to make the current governments life as miserable as possible. Everything reported on this government is OVERTHETOP AND SCANDALOUS!
22,000 in hospitality? What did George Strombo's little party at TIFF (also paid for by taxpayers) cost?
MND gets a helicopter ride - THE HORROR
CDS flies the corporate jet - WHOTHEHELLDOESHETHINKHEIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Armoured vehicles sold to Saudi Arabia - HARPER EXPORTS OPPRESSIVENESS TO GULF STATES!

And it goes on and on. Although the conservatives constant campaign has made me uneasy at times, the rhetoric from  the opposition and media has poisoned the waters to a point that I cannot believe that there is any trust or cooperation anywhere in Ottawa today.

It is in that string of emails between the RCAF officers (Ottawa and Goose Bay) that is the most telling. When the Ottawa officer says (paraphrasing) "Giving you a taste of life in Ottawa" it made my skin crawl. After reading that, I hope to god that if I am posted to the NCR that I will not have to interact with any political operative of any stripe while I am there.

 

[Pusser]

What many folks seem to fail to realize is that playing the proper host for certain events is expected to the point of being an absolute requirement.  It's part of the cost of doing the government's business.  Failure to do it properly will be seen as an insult and eventually mean the Canada will simply be sidelined and ignored in certain circles.

Back when I was organizing receptions on board ships in foreign ports, we frequently went over our TB approved budget, so we simply covered the balance out of the Wardroom Fund.  It was a matter of personal and professional pride that we properly hosted our guests, so we paid our of own pockets to do so.

 

[FSTO]

What many folks seem to fail to realize is that playing the proper host for certain events is expected to the point of being an absolute requirement.  It's part of the cost of doing the government's business.  Failure to do it properly will be seen as an insult and eventually mean the Canada will simply be sidelined and ignored in certain circles.

Back when I was organizing receptions on board ships in foreign ports, we frequently went over our TB approved budget, so we simply covered the balance out of the Wardroom Fund.  It was a matter of personal and professional pride that we properly hosted our guests, so we paid our of own pockets to do so.

I remember going to a luncheon on a Japanese ship. We were all given a gift of cuff-links and tie clip embossed with the ships mascot (a stylized samurai). The gifts likely cost 15 to 20 dollars apiece. all we had were some plastic Canadian Flag pins. We felt like absolute fools. When we went back to our ship our SYO said that we were very limited in giving gifts or mementos to visitors.

 

[dapaterson]

So it's all a matter of keeping up with the joneses?  Not having an HMCS Bushwacker tie-clip to give away impacts the operational effectiveness of the RCN how, exactly?

 

[FSTO]

So it's all a matter of keeping up with the joneses?  Not having an HMCS Bushwacker tie-clip to give away impacts the operational effectiveness of the RCN how, exactly?

In many cultures the gifts passed between visitors and hosts very much reflect the respect one gives towards the other. I felt that we disrespected our hosts, and even though this event occured 10 years ago, I still hold those feelings today.

 

[Kirkhill]

In many cultures the gifts passed between visitors and hosts very much reflect the respect one gives towards the other. I felt that we disrespected our hosts, and even though this event occured 10 years ago, I still hold those feelings today.

:goodpost:

If one accepts DAP's premise then it is acceptable for FSTO's crew to turn out for a port visit in workdress, grease-stained hands, a rusty hull and cargo stowed on the flight deck.    For appearances don't matter.  No.1s and shiny boots are a waste of money.

 

[aesop081]

I felt that we disrespected our hosts,

You clearly do not understand the Japanese then. I have had many dealings with them over the years and what is important to them is the act, not the gift itself.

The Lengths the Japanese go to when hosting is impossible for anyone to match.

 

[dapaterson]

If the RCN has so few problems that tie tacks and squeeze balls for giveaways are at the top of the list...


I guess we can cancel FELEX and SCSC, and bring out a new project instead: the Naval Integrated Community Excitement Solution Winning Admiration Goodies.

 

[Edward Campbell]

You clearly do not understand the Japanese then. I have had many dealings with them over the years and what is important to them is the act, not the gift itself.

The Lengths the Japanese go to when hosting is impossible for anyone to match.

Having had some experience with major international shindigs in Japan and in meetings elsewhere with the Japanese I agree with CDN Aviator, BUT we, the Canadian government agencies, are too chintzy on the hospitality front - first some discretionary spending authority needs to be pushed down farther than is now the case, or, at least, as was the case 15 years ago; second the limits need to be changed to keep up with the times.

I recognize that "hospitality" is politically sensitive and too easy to abuse and that pushing the authority down - to reduce a costly administrative tail - is bound to encourage even more abuse but, in my experience, ships, units, squadrons and detachments were NOT the problem/abusers - it was mid-level HQs who had very little need for any hospitality.

Anecdote: I was hosting a US unit and I had some of my own hospitality funds and Comd FMC, JJ Paradis himself, approved some more; everything was going fine until the SSF HQ (Andy Christs Prop) and some parts of FMC HQ decided that they wanted to join the "party." I was able to stop the nonsense by quoting a regulation about host:guest ratios as justification for declining to allow some FMC and SSF HQ folks to participate. (In fairness BGen Christie knew nothing about it and was furious when he learned, from Kip Kirby, about the antics of his staff with a non-SSF unit.) 

 

[Jed]

DAP, It is always easy to defend a position of saving a nickel to eventually spend a dollar when it comes to matters of offical protocol. I personally prefer people from other countries not to remember we Canadians as " those cheap SOB's."

 

[dapaterson]

DAP, It is always easy to defend a position of saving a nickel to eventually spend a dollar when it comes to matters of offical protocol. I personally prefer people from other countries not to remember we Canadians as " those cheap SOB's."

We have to draw lines somewhere.  And we've shown (repeatedly!) in the past that those in Federal employ do not always (or even often) have much common sense.  (20k stress balls while DND is in a time of fiscal restrain comes to mind)  So rules are imposed that become a barrier to getting work done.

The military, however, has Non-public funds that can be used for representational expenses.  I do not know when or why we moved away from that, and instead expect the public to foot the bill for the Royal Buckshot Fusiliers dinner plates and the #666 Sqn memorial Ginsu Knives; but it's a forgotten option.

 

[FSTO]

You clearly do not understand the Japanese then. I have had many dealings with them over the years and what is important to them is the act, not the gift itself.

The Lengths the Japanese go to when hosting is impossible for anyone to match.

Be that as it may, I still feel that we disrespected them. Plastic Canada pins did not pass the test.

 

[Jed]

Hey, man. You just dissed my old unit The Royal Buckshot Fusiliers and I always liked that memorial ginsu knife!  ;D

 

[aesop081]

Plastic Canada pins did not pass the test.

It didn't pass YOUR test.

I gave a JMSDF guy one of those pins last time. He still emails me saying what a great time he had.

I guess you have your priorities.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Just give them a box of:

Mr. Sparkle is a magnet for foodstuffs...he will banish dirt to the land of wind and ghosts"


;D

 

[FSTO]

It didn't pass YOUR test.

I gave a JMSDF guy one of those pins last time. He still emails me saying what a great time he had.

I guess you have your priorities.

Wow. You seem to be turning into the Pat Martin of Army.ca. Chill man, it was MY OPINION.

 

[OldSolduer]

Wow. You seem to be turning into the Pat Martin of Army.ca. Chill man, it was MY OPINION.

Stop killing kittens please.

 

[Pusser]

It didn't pass YOUR test.

I gave a JMSDF guy one of those pins last time. He still emails me saying what a great time he had.

I guess you have your priorities.

I have to agree with FSTO on this one.  It IS embarrassing, which is why, in my experience, we often dipped into our own pockets to try and at least attempt to do it right.  You are correct that the Japanese set a standard that is impossible to match, but do we have to go to the opposite extreme and go as cheap as possible without actually charging admission to a function that we are hosting?  Surely there is a happy medium somewhere?  If we can give the captain of one of HMC Ships the authority to spend over a million dollars annually and hold the lives of hundreds of sailors in his hands, surely we can trust him to spend a few more dollars on some decent gifts.  Frankly, the ridiculous limits which are imposed now tend to ENCOURAGE creative accounting, which in itself is abuse.

 

[Jed]

:goodpost:
Exactly what I tried to say.