Review demanded for questionable government spending

Do you ever wonder where your tax dollars go?

More than $5,000 went to install six pot lights and $1,000 was used to replace a doorbell on Parliament Hill.

The details of Ottawa's odd spending have been revealed in Montreal's LaPresse newspaper and now there are demands for a spending review.

These charges were put through in a $550 million annual maintenance and management contract with the company SNC-Lavalin.

Executive Vice-President Charlie Rate tells the Globe and Mail "$1,000 sounds ridiculous for a doorbell", but the invoice includes a voltage transformer, all of the wiring, as well as the drywall and paint jobs.

He says when you look at the details behind the cost, the charges are justified.

But the figures are coming as a shock to many MPs.

"It's outrageous. I've seen a couple of the examples and this is unnacceptable," Calgary Centre MP Lee Richardson tells 660News.

Public Works Minister Rona Ambrose is calling for a review of the contract and the Prime Minister is blaming all of this on bureaucrats, saying his political staff didn't approve the spending.

Some other examples of the expensive charges include $1,000 for a replacement light switch and $2,000 for a pair of exotic potted plants.