Ottawa spending $100,000 for paper flags, lapel pins to mark

[styky]

Ottawa spending $100,000 for paper flags, lapel pins to mark Diamond Jubilee

Postmedia News May 6, 2012 – 4:06 PM ET
OTTAWA — The Conservative government has set aside more than $100,000 for paper flags and lapel pins for celebrations to mark the sixth decade of Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

The costing was tabled by Heritage Minister James Moore in response to a written question by NDP MP Tyrone Benskin.

Details of various contracts were also included in the document, among them: $74,180 for 682,000 paper flags to be sent to the public, provinces and territories; $52,650 for 300,000 lapel pins; and $28,883.20 on posters.

The government also plans to spend $94,675.50 to print Crown of Maples — a government publication that “makes information on the Crown in Canada available to Canadians in an interesting and educational format,” according to the Canadian Heritage website.

Overall, Canadian Heritage expects to spend $7.5-million dollars from the department’s budget for celebrations and commemorations. Of the funds, $2-million will go toward community celebrations, $1.8-million for “awareness initiatives” and $3.7-million for the diamond jubilee medals program.

Of the $2-million for regional celebrations in the 13 provinces and territories, Ontario will receive the bulk of the funds ($333,947). Prince Edward Island ($169,150), British Columbia ($156,525), Saskatchewan ($129,630) and Nova Scotia ($92,205) round out the Top 5. The Yukon will receive the least amount of money at $10,000.

The $2 million in funding also includes $800,000 handed out to national organizations that are not represented by the regional events.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will visit New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan for two weeks at the end of May to mark the diamond jubilee celebrations commemorating the Queen’s 60-year reign.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/05/06 ... d-jubilee/

[styky]

Before anyone faints over the price. Recall the Sheila Copps 2004 purchase of flags that cost taxpayers $45 million for a million flags to which the manufacturers added no eyelets, sleeves or halyard lines, thus rendering them unflyable.

[RedDog]

With the related "appointment" of Jean Chretien so connected, will he be required to choose in giving up his citizenship like he forced Conrad Black to do in order to accept?