The Globe and Mail

Sometimes, when City Hall says it's spending money because of time constraints, it really means it. The City of Toronto recently cited "time constraints" as the reason for awarding Clifford Restoration a contract to restore the roof, windows and masonry of the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant without searching for a competitive bid. The contract was worth about a quarter of a million dollars, contributing to the $8-million already spent by the city for a long-term restoration plan. It was just one of a number of contracts awarded for goods and services to a total of $52-million for projects that ranged from a supply of playground sand to the supply and delivery of gift certificates to Loblaws and other grocery chains. While Mayor David Miller's critics have charged that the city ought to have taken the time to find competing bids, given cutbacks in community centre hours and ice-skating-rink time, in the case of the Beaches' "Palace of Purification," there was some urgency in the request for more cash.