Roger Varley has been in the news business almost 40 years with The Canadian Press/Broadcast News, Uxbnridge Times-Journal, Richmond Hill Liberal and Uxbridge Cosmos. Co-winner with two others of CCNA national feature writing award. In Scout movement over 30 years, almost 25 as a leader. Took Uxbridge youths to World Jamboree in Holland. Involved in community theatre for 20 years as actor, director, playwright, stage manager etc. Born in England, came to Canada at 16, lived most of life north and east of Toronto with a five-year period in B.C.
An invitation to Bev Oda
This is an invitation to International Development Minister Bev Oda, who also happens to be the Member of Parliament for Durham riding, to use the space usually set aside for my column to give her constituents in Uxbridge an explanation regarding her expenses at an international conference in London, England, last year.
This is not an idle invitation, because I know Ms. Oda will see this column. Part of her staff's duties is to peruse newspapers, particularly in Durham Region, and collect any and all articles about her.
For those of you who are not aware of this week's uproar over her high-spending ways at the conference - and I find it hard to believe there are any who have not heard the story prior to today - I direct you to the story on page 14 of this issue.
There are a few things I would like explained, something the minister has chosen not to do so far. First and foremost, I would like to know why the five-star Grange St. Paul's hotel was not to her liking. After all, it was where the conference itself was being held. To attend conference sessions, all she would have had to do is leave her room, take the elevator downstairs and walk into the designated hall. Not only would she have saved thousands of dollars on luxury car rentals, she would have also saved time. Lord knows, politicians are forever telling us just how full their schedules are.
Secondly, I would like her to tell us just where her head was at. Never mind that she tried to foist these ridiculous expenses off on the taxpayer; as a human being, wouldn't the fact that the conference was all about providing immunization to some of the poorest children in some of the poorest countries of the world make her think twice about paying $16 for a glass of orange juice? Just to put that into perspective, I can literally feed myself for three days on $16. How many food items would $16 put into a bag at the local food bank?
But, as the Ottawa Citizen stated in an editorial, "It's not about the dollar amount. It's about the attitude. Whether it's $16 or $1,600, it's not her money."
The same goes for the high-priced cost of staying at the Savoy, the preferred hotel for royalty, Arab princes, movie stars and Bev Oda. Paying $665 a night for a room, when she could have had a room for $287 a night at the Grange St. Paul's, and expecting the taxpayer to pick up the tab is nothing less than sheer arrogance. The price she paid for one night's stay would almost pay my rent for a month. It is also a lot more money than many of her constituents earn in a week.
As for riding around in her $1,000-a-day limousine, did Ms. Oda for one second give a thought to thousands of poor Africans who have to walk for miles just to get to a source of drinking water? As she nestled back in the soft leather seats, going back and forth to the conference, did she give a thought to the hundreds of thousands of impoverished children in Africa who face starvation, disease and exploitation on a daily basis?
Here in Uxbridge alone, we have Ted Webb and his Africycle project; the Ghana project, which sends doctors and nurses to treat the sick; and TV personality Mike Holmes, who is working to help African orphans. I doubt any of the people involved in these projects have ever had a $16 glass of orange juice. They just see what needs to be done and do it.
I would also like Ms. Oda to explain why she reimbursed the taxpayer - partially - only after the story broke on Monday. It's been 10 months since the conference. Not only that, but if, as her spokesman said, the expenditures fell in line with Treasury Board guidelines and that when she travels Ms. Oda considers "the most appropriate, cost-effective accommodations", why did she feel the need to make the reimbursement at all?
Indeed, there are several more aspects about this affair that need the minister's explanation, but I'll settle for an answer to the ones I have listed. She might not want to offer an explanation to the rest of Canada, but I think she owes it to the people who actually voted for her.
Tell me, am I wrong?
