General

Clement presided over G8 legacy funding in local riding

NDP calls funding of $50 million projects a “cover up”

Tony Clement’s local office presided over the funneling of millions of dollars in public money to G8 legacy projects in his riding of Huntsville, Ont., according to new documents obtained by the NDP using the freedom of information act. NDP MP Charlie Angus told The Toronto Star that he views the operation as a “cover-up” that was “very carefully constructed to remove all the checks and balances and basically put $50 million in the hands of a politician who dispensed money out of his constituency office.” The documents reveal that Clement’s office handled applications for legacy projects directly, but also that officials from federal regional development agency FedNor, which remains under Clement’s supervision, were involved in the process. Clement’s communications director Gemma Collins told the Star the Conservative government is committed to improving transparency in the way it reports financial details and that, in the case of the G8 legacy projects, “every tax dollar was spent on priorities identified by municipalities and that each and every penny was accounted for.”

The Toronto Star 

 

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