The bureaucrats toiling away in the provincial government's communications shops just can't seem to catch a break. First the Liberals deprived them of their job security. And now, the bean counters at the public affairs bureau's operations branch are taking away their fancy pens. In a high-priority email sent to all communications staffers and leaked to Public Eye, financial services officer Dawn Stewart notes that, "it has come to our attention that a lot of specialty office supplies...are being requested by staff. As PAB Headquarters has standards for pens, paper etc that are to be ordered, these standards will now apply when ordering office supplies for all PAB staff. If your supplies to be ordered do not comply with these standards, your orders will be revised by PAB Purchasing and you will be notified of the change." The following is a copy of that email.

-----Original Message-----
From: Stewart, Dawn M PAB:EX
Sent: August 12, 2004 2:40 PM
To: PAB All Staff
Cc: Orr, Andy PAB:EX; Champion, Denise PAB:EX
Subject: Ordering Supplies
Importance: High

Good afternoon:

Futher to my e-mail of July 28th, 2004, it has come to our attention that alot of specialty office supplies, ie pens, markers etc. are being requested by staff. As PAB Headquarters has standards for pens, paper etc that are to be ordered, these standards will now apply when ordering office supplies for all PAB staff. If your supplies to be ordered do not comply with these standards, your orders will be revised by PAB Purchasing and you will be notified of the change.

If you require a special type pen, etc, you are welcome to purchase and pay out-of-pocket, however, you will not be reimbursed.

Wherever possible office supplies must be purchased through the Office Products Centre (OPC). Only if it is an absolute necessity, and there is not a comparable product available through OPC, will we then order from Grand & Toy. Ordering from Grand & Toy should be an exception, and not a regular reoccuring event.

Just a reminder, when your supplies arrive, please ensure all packing slips are checked for accuracy and forwarded to PAB Purchasing.

Thank you for your assistance in this regard.