The Buzz · St. John's Morning Wire

Your tax dollars paid for a travel nurse's EV rental. Seriously?

Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton — St. John's Morning Wire correspondent
Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton St. John's · St. John's Morning Wire

Your tax dollars rented an EV for a travel nurse. Seriously?

Whaddya at, b'y — this is St. John's, oldest city in North America, and we're still here. Let's go.

I'll tell ya one thing, b'y, when I heard about this travel nurse thing, my jaw dropped faster than a cod jiggin' off da wharf. Da Auditor General, she flagged "potential billing fraud" for travel nurse EV rentals, right? And now we got da invoices! Electric vehicles, b'y, for travel nurses? When half da province is still tryin' to figure out how to get a doctor, never mind gettin' 'round in a Tesla on da taxpayer's dime. It just seems a bit... rich, eh?

This ain't just some numbers on a spreadsheet, you know. Dis is real money dat could be goin' to keep young Newfoundlanders home, instead of havin' to fly out to Fort Mac. Or it could be fixin' up da roads down near da Battery, or makin' sure dere's enough folks at da Grace to keep things runnin' smooth. Dis kinda stuff, it hurts da heart of da city. People are workin' hard, payin' dere taxes, and den ya see dis. It just makes ya wonder, doesn't it?

### What Dis Means for St. John's

* **Trust Issues:** It erodes da trust between us and da folks in charge. We need to know our money is bein' spent wisely, especially when we're talkin' 'bout health care. * **The Big Picture:** It distracts from da real issues, like da shortage of nurses and doctors across da island. * **A Familiar Feeling:** For many, it's just anudder example of how things sometimes work here, and it’s a frustrating feeling. We're a small place, b'y, news travels fast, especially when it's dis kinda news.

I tell ya, it's enough to make ya want to go down to George Street and have a good old moan about it wit' yer friends. We're a resilient bunch in St. John's, but we still expect fairness. We don't need fancy electric cars charged to us when folks are strugglin' to get basic care. Dis is our city, b'y, and we care about how it's run.

And dat's da Morning Wire for ya, b'y. Tune in to da fellas every morning, dey'll get ya sorted — catch it live at mornings.live.

Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton

Deirdre Molloy-Waddleton is the St. John's correspondent for the MiTL Conversation Desk, covering the St. John's Morning Wire.

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