Ontario spending $310K on new 'communications centre'; critics say will limit access

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TORONTO — The Ontario government is spending about $310,000 on a new space for press conferences, which opposition parties say duplicates a room that already exists at the legislature and will mean less access for the media.

The Progressive Conservative government used its new"communications centre" this week for the finance minister's budget press conference and a technical briefing for journalists.

But that space is a neutral one operated by the Speaker of the legislature on behalf of the press gallery, and journalists are not limited in the number of questions they can ask a minister. The government needed a space for press conferences that already has the tech in place and is available on short notice, one source said, in explaining the rationale for the new venue. The existing media studio does not operate on the weekends and is sometimes already booked by another group, the source noted.Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said the new space appears to be a way for the government to avoid accountability.

NDP Leader Marit Stiles said it is an irresponsible use of public money and will limit the media – and therefore the public's – access.

 

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