XPost: can.politics, ont.politics, ott.general   
   XPost: bc.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   Maybe someone should post this sign on the inside of his office door? .   
   . . .   'There's no free lunch'   
   _________________________________   
      
      
   Posted: 02/25/2014  - huffingtonpost.com   
      
      
   PMO Charged $67,789.48 In Questionable Lunch Expenses   
      
      
   OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office isn’t following the rules when it   
   comes to hospitality expenses.   
      
   Over the span of the past three years, taxpayers have been on the hook   
   for $67,789.48 to cover weekly catered lunch meetings for PMO staffers   
   and ministerial chiefs of staff — an apparent violation of Treasury   
   Board policy.   
      
   “This is a consistent ongoing initiative to basically feed the Prime   
   Minister’s Office lunches,” Liberal Treasury Board critic Gerry Byrne   
   told The Huffington Post Canada Monday.   
      
   The weekly Wednesday lunches — bi-weekly in the summer — began in July   
   2010. The costs of the lunches were disclosed on a government website   
   and include bills up until October 31, 2013.   
      
   But the practice continues to this day with Indian Express catering last   
   Wednesday’s lunch.   
      
   “They order butter chicken, chicken biryani, one vegetable dish, like   
   mixed vegetable or veggie korma, rice, pakoras, naan bread, stuff like   
   that,” said the clerk who answered the phone at the Ottawa restaurant.   
      
   Records suggest meal preferences for Boston Pizza ($7,724.26 over three   
   years), Mexican restaurant Southern Cross ($9,024.28 over three years),   
   Lebanese restaurant, El Mazaj ($8,471.70 over three years), the House of   
   Greek ($10,020.03 over three years), and Indian Express ($8,442.54 over   
   three years).   
      
   As time went on, the weekly orders for 40 people started to weigh   
   heavily in favour of healthier options such as sandwiches and wraps from   
   Café Deluxe ($18,857.16 over three years) and Freshii’s ($5,249.51 since   
   2011). Freshii’s is 60 footsteps away from the Langevin block, where the   
   meeting takes place.   
      
   The Wednesday meetings were for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s chief of   
   staff to meet with the ministers' chiefs of staff, said two sources, who   
   insisted on anonymity because they weren’t supposed to speak to the media.   
      
   One restaurant, House of Greek, used to advertise its connection with   
   the PMO, encouraging patrons to order the Prime Minister’s favourite   
   dish, the brochette platter. It also displays a letter from October 2011   
   from the Prime Minister’s Office thanking “Rahim” for the “excellent   
   service provided by House of Greek to the Office of The Prime Minister.”   
      
   “Your dependability, professionalism, and especially the delicious food   
   have been greatly appreciated over the past two and a half years," says   
   the letter, which is oddly signed by the Office of the Chief of Staff.   
   It goes on to say that the PMO hopes to continue to enjoy the   
   restaurant’s food.   
      
   Three Treasury Board directives covered the period under which the meals   
   were ordered. They all state that federal employees can only be provided   
   hospitality in situations that “extend beyond normal working hours.”   
      
   “This includes situations where employees are required to work through   
   normal break and meal periods. It may include situations where there are   
   no nearby or appropriate facilities to obtain refreshments or meals   
   and/or where staff dispersal is not effective or efficient,” the   
   policies state.   
      
   The Treasury Board Secretariat and its Minister Tony Clement’s office   
   refused to respond to questions about the policy.   
      
   The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to requests for comments.   
   All emails went unanswered.   
      
   The Liberal MP, who brought the issue to HuffPost's attention, was happy   
   to fill the blanks.   
      
   “If it was a working lunch that was not scheduled or predicted but based   
   on an emergency, one could understand,” Byrne said. “If it was an   
   occasional get together, one would be a little bit more understanding of   
   it. This is regular, it is consistent. [Staffers] probably put it in   
   their calendar, week after week this lunch will occur and it will be   
   paid by taxpayers. That’s what makes it contrary to Treasury Board   
   Guidelines for hospitality,” he added.   
      
   Byrne said he didn’t think public servants would be allowed to expense   
   such hospitality expenses and he noted there were several restaurants   
   nearby for staffers to grab a bite.   
      
   “These staffers are surrounded by some great restaurants, take-outs and   
   fast food establishments and they could bring their own bag lunches, so   
   it does seem rich,” he said.   
      
   “It’s a breach of the rules. It’s a free lunch."   
      
   “The Prime Minister and his entourage came to Ottawa preaching that   
   there would be no free lunches, and this is in stark contrast, both   
   literally and figuratively, to what the Prime Minister’s stated   
   objectives were,” Byrne added.   
      
      
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        “It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save   
   the environment.”    ― Ansel Adams   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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