How to net a barrow full of bills
By Roger Bill
The bills for Gerry Byrne’s $171,000 sponsorship of a bottom-rung British soccer team are quietly accumulating. On October 1, 2024 the Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed an ATIPP request for information about the cost of the government’s participation in three U.K. “Job Shows,” a meeting with officials at the office of the High Commissioner of Canada in the U.K, and the attendance of Minister Byrne’s successor, Sarah Stoodley, at a Barrow AFC soccer game. In response, on January 28 the government released 52 pages of documents.
Minister Stoodley’s Deputy Minister and Assistant Deputy Minister received “Official Journey Authorization” of $8,000 each for what was two days of travel and seven nights in hotels in the U.K.
Rooms at the Mariott in London topped out at 368 GBP per night (that’s $653.90 Can). The Holiday Inn in Barrow was much cheaper at 102 GBP. Of course, comparing London to Barrow is like comparing New York to Fredericton, which is about the size of Barrow.
The cost of booths at three “Job Shows” was $26,547. Presumably that is money the Department of Immigration, Population Growth and Skills would spend on immigration attraction events whether the address for the provincial government’s name and HomeAwaits website address was displayed on the Barrow jerseys or not.
What is more interesting than learning that a St. John’s airport taxi cost the Minister $40 is the reading the background communication among officials in preparation for the U.K. trip.
For example, the Canadian High Commission asked the Department what its goals and objectives were in asking for a meeting. Part of the reply was, “This visit is part of efforts we have underway to support international recruitment, which includes leveraging our recently announced partnership with Barrow AFC.”
And the rationale for that partnership?
Rationale #7 in a September 17 Meeting Note reads, “Sponsoring a League 2 team is an innovative, and cost-effective way to reach all these people… Each Barrow AFC game has the potential to reach 22.5 million people through streaming services, and the Barrow AFC X (Twitter account) gets 4 million impressions per month.”
Of course, buying a lottery ticket has the potential of making someone a millionaire and X (Twitter) “impressions” are not unique visitors.
Oh, and the day of the game? The September game-day “Itinerary” includes the notation, “Refreshments served 90 minutes before kick off in Chelsea Boardroom (Minister, Sharlene, Katie). Light refreshments also provided in the guest lounge of the Harris Suite. Dress code: smart casual (collar, no jeans or sneakers).”
The “Sharlene” and “Katie” in the Itinerary note are Deputy Minister Sharlene Jones and Assistant Deputy Minister Katie Norman. There is no indication of what the bar bill was for the 90-minute reception before the kickoff.
The Department’s enthusiasm for the Barrow sponsorship in September was high. The Minister was boasting that the HomeAwaits website was getting 50,000 visits a day. The Minister told the Canadian Press the number was 50,000 a day. She said the same thing to the BBC and the New York Times. Then she went to the U.K. and met with senior bureaucrats at the Canadian High Commission and said the same thing again. Then, in November The Shoreline reported that the Department’s numbers were wildly inflated. The number was more like 700 visits a day, maybe.
One note in the documents released to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a list of “Key Messages” for the Minister and her officials to carry into the High Commission Meeting. One message was, “When we announced the sponsorship agreement with Barrow AFC in June, we knew they were an up-and-coming club in the English Football League.”
Up-and-coming? In the 2023/24 season Barrow finished 8th in a league of 24 teams. The club proudly bearing the Province’s name fell 10 spots in 2024/25 and finished in 18th in the league ending with a record of two wins and four losses in their last six matches.