REGINA - Representatives from three small Saskatchewan political parties came together for a joint news conference Monday, calling for a performance review into Communities of Tomorrow.
Communities of Tomorrow was the partnership that came into being in 2003 and was wound down a decade later which was to look into water practises and in particular the use of asbestos cement water pipes in the province. On Monday, PC leader Rose Buscholl, Green Party leader Naomi Hunter and Saskatchewan Progress Party official agent Michael Medby together demanded the provincial auditor step in and investigate what happened with the organization.
They noted that according to the initial government news release from 2003, $30 million was to go for Communities of Tomorrow partnership and NRC Centre. The same release had referred to a Centre for Sustainable Infrastructure Research whose focus would be on municipal water management best practices.
According to the three political representatives, who represent parties without any seats in the Saskatchewan Legislature, the Research Centre had produced a total of ten studies on asbestos cement water pipes -- an issue that had seen renewed focus in recent months due to a CTV W5 investigative story on asbestos cement pipes in the city of Regina.
But the three politicians raised questions about what the goal actually was for the organization, described as a public-private partnership.
“What exactly was this entity?” stated Medby in a news release. “At least $34 million dollars of taxpayer’s money was funnelled through Communities of Tomorrow. What benefit did we receive?”
Green leader Hunter wanted to know what happened to the CT promise of making Saskatchewan “Canada’s first infrastructure innovation hub.”
“The plan was to have a permanent National Research Council presence in Regina,” she stated. “The research centre is long gone. Communities of Tomorrow is gone. This feels like the old shell game, and Saskatchewan taxpayers are the big losers…
“Let me be very clear. Communities of Tomorrow was created to help fund the study of asbestos cement water pipes. Those studies referred to asbestos fibres in the water as a health concern. Communities of Tomorrow is gone. The Research Centre at the University of Regina is gone. The only thing left is a lot of old asbestos cement water pipes.”
“We have seen some money-losing fiascos in this province,” Buscholl said in a statement. “This could turn out to be the topper.”
The three demanded the provincial auditor “take a hard look at this entire issue,” in Medby’s words. "People have the right to know what happened to public money, and how they benefited from the expenditure of tens of millions of public dollars."
