From: Ashu M. G. Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 11:27 PM
Subject: City of Saskatoon Wasting Taxpayer Money on Tote Bags
Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 11:27 PM
Subject: City of Saskatoon Wasting Taxpayer Money on Tote Bags
Dear City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations
Committee:
As you know, the City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and
Race Relations Committee has spent $500 of taxpayer money on souvenir tote bags
and the City of Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Office has
spent $490 of taxpayer money on souvenir tote bags in 2012. I understand
that this money is spent every year on souvenir tote bags for distribution at
various civic events related to cultural diversity. I voted against the
committee’s expenditure on the tote bags. Although this might not seem like
a large expenditure for the City of Saskatoon, all of these minor expenditures
add up. The city should not be in the business of wasting taxpayer money
on souvenir tote bags for people. Taxpayer money doesn’t grow on
trees. The City of Saskatoon seems to think that it does. I’m fed
up with government waste. How many parking tickets need to be given out
every year so souvenir tote bags can be freely distributed every year?
Over 50.
The stated purpose of this $990 expenditure on tote bags was
to promote the committee. Tote bags are an expensive way to promote the
committee and do not promote the committee. They’re going to end up in
people’s closets or drawers and they will likely never use them again.
They aren’t considered “cool” to use. If you want to give something out
to promote the committee, I suggest that you give out photocopied handouts on
the committee for about five cents per handout. I suggested this
before. The handouts can include pictures of the winning painting from
the Living in Harmony contest. Handing out free souvenir tote bags
doesn’t make the people of Saskatoon more respectful of cultural and racial
diversity. It’s ridiculous to think that it does.
The Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee does
not need to promote itself anymore. This email message is to tell you
that the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee has received massive
media attention during the past year because of a civil rights complaint that I
made against Mayor Don Atchison, Councillor Randy Donauer, and the City of
Saskatoon, because of a Code of Conduct complaint that I made against Atchison,
and because of a civil rights complaint that I made against Saskatoon Transit
and the City of Saskatoon. Much of the media coverage of my complaints
mentioned that I was a representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race
Relations Committee. I made it clear that I’m not speaking as part of my
work on the committee because the committee focuses on education and awareness,
not advocacy. You can see more information on these complaints at http://atchison-discrimination.blogspot.ca
You can see many of the media mentions of the Cultural
Diversity and Race Relations Committee by doing a Google search on “Cultural
Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu Solo” This Google search
can be seen below:
You can also see many more of the media mentions of the
Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee by doing a Google search on
“Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu M. G. Solo”
This Google search can be seen below:
As you can see, there are over 6100 hits on “Cultural
Diversity and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu Solo” and “Cultural Diversity
and Race Relations Committee” + “Ashu M. G. Solo” during the past year.
Furthermore, much of the radio and T.V. media coverage of my complaints
mentioned that I was a representative on the Cultural Diversity and Race
Relations Committee. This radio and T.V. media coverage is not included
in the over 6100 hits above. A single mention on T.V., radio, or a news
article that I was on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee does
infinitely more to promote the existence of the committee than all of the tote
bags that you could ever hand out for free.
The committee does not need more promotion through wasting
taxpayer money on tote bags. Also, the committee does not need more
promotion through having ads in University of Saskatchewan student
handbooks. Tote bags and student handbook ads will have an extremely
minimal impact in promoting the committee in comparison to the promotion of the
committee through the massive media coverage on my complaints. Taxpayer
money should be carefully spent, not wasted like it grows on trees.
Furthermore, the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations
Committee retreat should be held at a location that doesn’t cost any extra
taxpayer money like City Hall instead of at an extravagant expensive
location. I haven’t been to a retreat, but I don’t see anything wrong
with the conference room that we used for meetings. I understand the
retreat is only four hours long. The committee shouldn’t waste taxpayer
money on extravagant expenditures like City Council has been doing because the
City of Saskatoon is now really short of revenues and City Council just
increased property taxes by 5% and is considering parking meter fees after 6:00
PM and bridge tolls.
I don’t like that my taxpayer money goes toward these
wasteful expenditures and I feel bound my conscience to speak against this in
this email message. Some people might not like this, but I don’t
care. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest or I wouldn’t have made
the complaints that I did. This is my last email message to the Cultural
Diversity and Race Relations Committee. Please forward this email
message to newly appointed members of the committee whose email addresses I
don’t have.
I am blind copying this email message to City Council and
the media, so that they know about this waste of taxpayer money and can monitor
if it happens in the future. The Cultural Diversity and Race Relations
Office coordinator knows more about the tote bags. If the
Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee or Cultural Diversity and Race
Relations Office wastes money on souvenir tote bags again, I’ll write my own
article for the media on this waste of taxpayer money.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo