N.S. Tory buys TV with public cash
By QMI Agency
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The Tory MLA in Nova Scotia who repaid the government for an $8,000 generator he expensed, also spent $3,100 taxpayer dollars to purchase and install a 40-inch LCD television.
In his annual report released last Wednesday, the province's auditor general highlighted many questionable expenses and described “serious weaknesses” in spending controls for provincial politicians that he said can lead to spending abuse.
The report didn't provide the names of the politicians who filed the claims.
One of the "inappropriate expenditures" was $7,995 for the purchase and installation of a generator at a politician's home.
Tory MLA Richard Hurlburt apologized Friday for an "error in judgment" and paid the government back for the generator.
Although the generator was kept at his house, Hurlburt insisted it was purchased for local groups - including a senior citizens' residence down the street from his home - in the event of a power outage.
Residents of the seniors' complex, however, were baffled at the news when the CBC contacted them last week.
Hurlburt made no mention of the big-screen television.
On Monday, the House speaker released a list of the politicians who filed the expenses singled out in the auditor's report.
Premier Darrell Dexter's name appears in the list of "excessive expenditures" for the purchase of a $5,501 laptop computer and a $2,150 digital camera.
On Monday, Dexter said he would introduce legislation to tighten spending controls.
“I regret that I have been included in his report,” Dexter told a news conference. “But talk is not as important as action.”
N.S. Tory buys TV with public cash- Politics - Canoe.ca
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