Last year, Public Eye exclusively told you the ministry of children and family development made $560,120 in renovations the fourth floor of its Victoria headquarters. And now we've learned the ministry has spent $13,339.53 on food and catering expenses for leadership team meetings held between May 1, 2006 and November 8, 2007. This, according to a document obtained via a freedom of information request.

Asked for comment, provincial New Democrat children and family development critic Nicholas Simons stated, "If there was a correlation between the amount spent on food and the productivity of the ministry, we'd be less concerned about it. But the fact remains we've got a ministry in chaos that's unable to support its frontline workers appropriately. And, meanwhile, in the offices above the hubbub and din, we have executives making sure their comforts are met.” At the time of the expenses, the ministry's leadership team had 15 members. The document doesn't explicitly state how many meetings were catered or how long they lasted - although some were full-day affairs." The following is a complete copy of that document.

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Leadership Team Meeting Food and Catering Expenses from April 2006 to Present

November 8, 2007 $117.85
November 7, 2007 $130.35
November 7, 2007 $242.50
November 7, 2007 $126.85
October 10-11, 2007 $961.30
September 21, 2007 $521.30
September 12-14, 2007 $3,383.23
September 5, 2007 $209.70
August 22, 2007 $275.80
July 19, 2007 $473.65
July 19, 2007 $33.86
June 27, 2007 $383.22
June 1, 2007 $367.00
June 1, 2007 $334.10
May 16, 2007 $434.00
May 4, 2007 $77.10
May 4, 2007 $264.00
March 29, 2007 $554.00
March 28, 2007 $230.75
March 28, 2007 $294.20
March 2, 2007 $242.15
March 2, 2007 $115.20
February 28, 2007 $241.05
January 10, 2007 $380.00
December 18, 2006 $360.50
November 23, 2006 $80.00
November 9, 2006 $300.00
October 19, 2006 $350.00
September 6, 2006 $350.00
September 1, 2006 $100.00
August 9, 2006 $220.00
July 5, 2006 $175.00
July 5, 2006 $33.00
May 31, 2006 $127.60
June 28, 2006 $40.00
June 26, 2006 $32.50
June 29, 2006 $169.40
June 4, 2006 $456.61
May 1 - June 30, 2006 $112.76
May 17, 2006 $39.00