Boondoggle Schmoondoggle

[Nocrap]

Cost of saving 89.5 million dollars - 193 million dollars.

Cost of purchasing unreliable and expensive computer equipment - 500 million dollars.

Added cost of computer glich that sent cheques to ineligible recipients - 2.1 million dollars.

John Baird talking about accountability - PRICELESS.

Further to the article from the Canadian Press on the new act, John Baird spoke out stating that the 'Price of accountability is priceless'. No that was not a thunderstorm you heard last night but a few million Ontarians laughing out loud.

I can't believe that he used the term 'boondoggle' twice in his speech when he was behind one of the largest boondoggles in the history of our province.

500 Million Dollar Boondoggle

Toronto Star - "Critics of the Mike Harris government are up in arms over a $200 million privatization "boondoggle" in which a private company called Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting) was hired to overhaul the Ontario welfare system

Baird said some of the unexpected cost were caused by a new computer system and other measures aimed at reducing duplication and fraud.

Provincial Auditor Erik Peters first criticized the contract in 1998, citing a lack of accountability for fee expenses ranging as high as $600 an hour."

Ottawa Citizen October 2001 ...Accenture received millions of dollars before any savings occurred; that the government can't yet clearly say what the final cost, or savings, will be; that it is unclear that any savings will come from this at all; that computer crashes have been rampant. The editorial came to the conclusion that high-priced consultants are just that - high priced, and that "if a service truly needs to be provided by government, then government should do the job. The government defended the scheme, saying that though there were problems in the first two years, those problems have been dealt with and the contract is unning smoothly, providing a huge windfall for taxpayers according to Social Services Minister John Baird

In December 2001, the Provincial Auditor laid waste to the claims that the contract has been running smoothly over the previous two years, saying that the cost ratio of having Accenture do the work rather than public servants was 6 to 1 and that in 2000 the Province realized savings of $89.5 million [much of this from the continued gutting of access to welfare payments], but the government had paid Accenture $193 million. This statement of the Auditor General was part of a larger condemnation of the Tory government's overuse of private consultants throughout its Departments

Toronto Star - Jul 10, 2004: "So John Baird thinks it's "laughable" to point the finger at him or the former Conservative government for the $500 million computer boondoggle that has stalled a long-awaited raise in support payments for people with disabilities.

Not too much of a shock that Accenture were heavy contributors to the Ontario Tories - Hamilton Spectator ['Briefly' Section] "Tory Welfare Donations Under Fire" October 25, 2001; and "Consulting Firm Boosts PC Coffers, Toronto Star, October 25th, 2001)

And now for the rest of the story - Accenture, formerly Anderson Consulting were behind the whole Enron scandal, which is why they changed their name. Mike Harris is now a director at Accenture and John Baird is now in charge of the Canadian Treasury. Like leaving a fox in charge of the henhouse. What was Harper thinking?