The provincial Liberals will be counting on service they can trust during the next election. Insiders tell Public Eye the premier's executive assistant Lara Dauphinee and Tim Lewis of Western Pro Show Rentals Ltd. fame will be responsible for the leader's tour, the same job they did in 2001. Mr. Lewis's company has had a lucrative relationship with the government. Between the time the Liberals were elected and fiscal 2003/04, more than $1.5 million from the provincial treasury has been transferred into Pro Show's account. Monday Magazine muckraker and freedom of information request guru Russ Francis has extensively documented how many of the contracts awarded to Pro Show, which produces the government's open cabinet meetings, have been untendered.

Payments to Pro Show

Fiscal 2003/04 - $558,668
Fiscal 2002 - $530,274
Fiscal 2001/02 - $441,150