Flaherty and tailored disability fund
http://www.scandalpedia.ca/Scandals/Flahertydisabilityfund_en.html
In April 2008 the Harper Conservative government announced a new $45-million Enabling Accessbility Fund, a program designed to improve facility access for the disabled. However, the request for applications for the program was announced suddenly, contained strict criteria and had an application period that closed within one month, leaving little time for proper submissions.
 Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance |
Shortly after the announcement, reports surfaced that the Fund criteria seemed tailor-made for a project in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's riding of Whitby. Minister Flaherty and people close to him had long advocated for such a fund to finance a new accessibility centre in his home riding. In fact. the centre's board of directors included Mr. Flaherty's wife, Ontario MPP Christine Elliott, and Nancy Shaw, Mr. Flaherty's executive assistant [1].
The application for the Whitby centre was submitted within eleven days of the Fund's announcement [3].
Organizations representing disabled individuals across Canada claimed that not only did the large grant component of the fund appear custom-made for the Minister's riding, but the smaller component of the fund had such strict criteria that many non-profit organizations could not meet them in such a short time [2].
Despite calls to extend the application period to allow more time for other applicants, the deadline was not moved.
In 2006, the Conservative Party of Canada campaigned on a platform of transparent and accountable government. The platform claimed: "Everyday Canadians – the hardworking people who pay their taxes and play by the rules – want and deserve a new government that will put the people's interest ahead of self-interest" [4].
References
[1] Fund tailored to help Flaherty 'pet project'; Critics see conflict as wife, staffer on board of centre applying for cash, The Ottawa Citizen, April 11, 2008; Flaherty in conflict, critics say; Wife on board of project seeking funds, National Post, April 11, 2008
[2] 'Rigged' fund still open to applicants, Tories retort, CanWest News Service, April 12, 2008
[3] Flaherty under fire over budget spending, The Globe and Mail, April 11, 2008
[4] Stephen Harper, Conservative Party of Canada 2006 Platform
