AS huge
complex in

house... federal. - civil:
servants" transferred
from |: ‘neighboring’.
Ottawa ~ 1as been ©
, blasted.” . “b
Conservati

Ron Hunt

’ ‘fington | also: sees a,
., possible.

_interest involyed on. the.
. part
government offigial.

‘conflict

of: senior

~ °

In an exclusive interview
with the .Sunday News
Huntington ' who
represented Capilano riding
in the last parliament, where
he served.as chairman of the
standing ‘committee on
public accounts — ‘said the

$180 million - complex. will

cost the taxpayer over $400
million more than might
otherwise have. been
necessary. over the next 35
years.

He is calling | for a. full-

scale judicial i inquiry into all. .

the ‘circumstances
surrounding the deal
because “too many questions
remain unanswered”.
Known as Les Terrasses
de la Chaudiere, the project,
said Huntington, is-the result
of a privately negotiated
lease-purchase arrangement
concluded ‘late in. 1975
between the Department of
Public Works and the
Campeau Corporation,

office
Hull, :.

' Quebec —. built by a=

_ private. developer. ‘to.

~ RON HUN TINGT¢

of -

ty

jo

-.-wants ,, - answers. -' _

apparently ‘without public -
tendering.

Huntington said it had”
now been established that
the agreement with Cam-

‘peau’ was” signed by A.J.

Perrier, . assistant | deputy
minister of the Department
of Public Works in charge of
planning . and . development

—,who had earlier been a_

vice-president of Campeau.
Corporation before moving
to the DPW.

Ini i an interview published

‘June 22,1976, in The Ottawa

Citizen, Perrier said he: had
been careful to- avoid a
conflict of interest, and that
all leasing negotiations (with
Campeau) had been ‘con-.
ducted by the department's
national capital region
office, headed by H.D.
McFarland.

“MISLEADING”

On the same day, in an-
swer toa question in the
House by the Capilano MP,
the then Minister of Public
Works, Bud Drury, repeated
that Perrier had not had
charge of direct negotiations
“of any description” with
Campeau Corporation.

Make government

Gordon Gibson, Liberal
candidate ‘in the North
Vancouver-Burnaby riding

at the May 22 federal
election, has called for a
number of fundamental!

government reforms to make
government more responsive
to the people.

“Our system is working,”
he said in a statement issued
last weekend, “but not so
well as it should. Especially
with the senior levels; of
government, people feel, that
they are too far away and too
unresponsive to their needs.
They feel it produces too
much fighting and not
enough progress.”

Gibson stated it does not
have to be like this. With
some small changes, we can
transform a creaking par-

tisan side-show in
Parliament into a vital
democratic institution to

give better service to all of
us. People want government
that is:

--More responsive to us
as individuals, providing
better service;

—More responsive to us
as British Columbians;

—More efficient -

There is a way of doing

_this. It is simple and voters

should insist on it, because
in the long run nothing is.

more important, said’
Gibson. Here is what is
needed: .

1. A strong Freedom of
Information law,  en-
forceable by the Courts. At
all levels of government, too
much stays hidden.

2. Parliamentary com-
mittees with independence
from the government of the
day, so that they can check
and audit the bureaucracy
on a continuing basis and
hear citizen views on all
matters.

3. A real right” of
petition—the ability by
securing cnough signatures
to force parliamentary
debate or even a public vote
on issues where our
representatives may not be
reflecting the popular wii:

¥ said,

Huntington: asserted ‘that
“the answer given by: Drury

- -* had ‘been. established ~ as

being incorrect: . ‘and

therefore misleading to the |

House ‘and to the people of
Canada.”

The - terms.. of. the lease-_

purchase. agreement, ac-

’ cording to “Huntington, call

for the. government to lease
more than 1.8 milljon square

~ feet of. office space in the’

“‘Terrasses . de la Chaudiere

_-complex from :Campeau for

approximately $16.5. million

per .year over a 35-year -
"period. -

‘Had the project: ‘been built

by the. government itself and | N

financed by 9 per cent
government bonds,
corresponding cost over the
same period, he claimed,
would have been only about

the .{

2 on the deal.
Les Terragses de la
‘Chaudiere is one of thrée
_ hew major office complexes
commissioned: by © the
Triideau government since
1972 in the predominantly
French-speaking city of
Hull, across the river from
Ottawa. The overall
‘program to relocate’ many ,
~ thousands of federal civil

$7.5 million per year. ~~ _ oN

The extra $9 million per
year: allegedly accruing to

the developer under the. y

agreement would amount to. :™
a total of $315 million by the <4

end of the 35-year lease
period.

PURCHASE OPTION
In addition, sajd,) Hun-
tington, the agreement

provides the . government
with an option to purchase
the complex at the end of the

35. years for a further $54 ‘
he. “ones!

million. Meanwhile,
added, Campeau will also
pick up approximately $60
million over the 35 years in
. the form of a. depreciation
tax shield.

These three figures —

$315 million plus $54-million ..

(if the government even-
tually exercises its purchase
option) plus $60 million —
form the basis for Hun-
tington’s charge that the
taxpayer may wind up over
$400 million out of pocket

more responsive says Gibson

“All of these things must

be carefully done,” Gibson
“to preserve the
balance within our society.
Each of these reforms is
functioning and functioning
well in modern democracies
around the world. Even if it
inconveniences govern-
ments, it is time to bring
these reforms to Canada.”

Gibson also called for a
unifed voters’ list—a single
list maintained on a constant
basis—which could be used
alike for federal, provincial
and municipal elections, and
for referendums. ;

In addition, he wants
elections held regularly
every four years (except in
the case of a non-confidence
vote), with and end to
“surprise” elections. “If a
government needs a
‘mandate’ on = a_ specific

issue," declared Gibson, “let
t wait until the next election
or calla referendum.”

.* sx
McCall

pa ress]
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