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"A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the licence plates will go the Canadian Forces Personnel Assistance Fund"
-- Government of Ontario news release
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What exactly do they mean by a "portion" of the sale will go to a troops fund?
How much is that portion?
Turns out it's so low, you can safely say it's miniscule.
But since we are talking portions, what fraction does Premier Dalton McGuinty's scandal-ridden, cash-strapped regime get out of this for its empty coffers?
Stay tuned, because there are several demanding that answer. For those who missed it, the Liberal government announced on Remembrance Day it created a yellow ribbon Support the Troops licence plate -- similar to the special plates for fans of sports teams or for the Royal Canadian Legion.
"McGuinty Government encourages Ontarians to support our troops," was the headline on the release, followed by, "New Ontario licence plates featuring the Yellow Ribbon -- Support our Troops logo are being introduced to honour the Canadian Forces. Starting February 1, 2010."
Says Government Services Minister Harinder Takhar: "This is a fitting tribute to the heroism of those who served in our armed forces and those who continue to risk their lives as part of Canada's military mission."
But how does this work?
Sarbjit Kaur, a senior communications adviser to Takhar, says the standard arrangement with other speciality plates, the "regular series graphic licence plates purchased through regular government channels currently cost $77.75 per set. Personalized plates with the graphic are $314"
So how much of that goes to the troops fund?
"I am thinking maybe half, or at least one third," says NDP transportation critic Peter Tabuns.
PC Opposition House Leader Bob Runciman thought the same thing.
They're way off.
Says Kaur: "As a registered charity, CFPAF will receive a royalty fee of $2.25 for every set of regular series plates sold with the yellow ribbon graphic and $4.50 for every set of personalized licence plates."
You read it right.
Sun reporter Don "Pistol" Peat did the math and determined the charity gets 1.43% of the sale of the $314 plates and 2.89% on the $77.75 set.
"The province has to sell 223 plates before that charity makes $1,000," notes Peat.
Who gets the remaining 98.57% and 97.11% respectively? That's what we want to know.
"It doesn't seem particularly generous," says Tabuns. "In fact, it smacks of cynicism. It looks like they are trying to sell plates using the affection people have for soldiers."
Who is running this thing, the people who run the OLG and the casinos?
"On the surface it sounds like an offensive gimmick," Runciman says. "Anything beyond cost to manufacture and distribute should go to vets and families."
The government deserves a fair chance to explain but "if this is another shameless cash grab," says Runciman, the public shouldn't stand for it.
We asked for the breakdown of costs, but already these numbers seem way out of whack.
"Outrageous," is the word City Councillor Rob Ford used to describe it. And he should know as one of the proprietors of his family's 50-year-old Deco Labels and Tags Ltd. business in Rexdale.
"We make licence plates and with a large order like this we could make these for the cost of $15 a piece," Ford says. "I am interested to see how they get to $314."
Poor Kaur, working on her day off, said she won't be able to get details of the cost breakdown until later today.
Tabuns promises to demand the McGuinty government be transparent in every aspect of the cost.
"The soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice and this should be made public so that people will know if they buy one of these plates they are making a substantial donation to the fund, or a not so substantial donation," he says.
No matter how you slice it, less than 3% is a very slim piece of the pie.
JOE.WARMINGTON@SUNMEDIA.CA