From the Fraser Institute

By Ben Eisen and Milagros Palacios

Hiring by the federal government in excess of population growth cost taxpayers $7.5 billion in 2022/23.

The federal workforce has grown more rapidly than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, imposing significant costs on taxpayers, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think tank.

Federal government employment has grown significantly faster than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, and we’re already seeing the consequences,” said Ben Eisen, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Growing Government Workforce Puts Pressure on Federal Finances, the first in a series of studies on federal reform.

The study finds that between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the latest year of data available, the number of full-time federal workers has increased by 26.1 per cent compared to growth in the overall Canadian population of 9.1 per cent.

“Growth in federal employment has almost tripled the rate of population growth since 2015/16, which is simply unsustainable” commented Eisen.

How much will this growth in government cost Canadian taxpayers?

According to the study, if federal hiring had simply kept pace with the rate of Canada’s population growth taxpayers would have saved $7.5 billion.

The reduced spending on federal employees would lower the federal deficit, which is expected to exceed $35.3 billion in 2022/23.

“The growth in the number of federal employees has been a major contributor to the growth in federal government spending and the size of deficits in recent years,” Eisen said.

• The Canadian federal government workforce has grown more rapidly than the Canadian population starting in 2015/16, imposing significant costs on taxpayers.
• In fact, between 2015/16 and 2022/23, the latest year of data available, the number of full-time federal government workers has increased by 26.1 per cent, compared to growth in the overall Canadian population of 9.1 per cent.
• If federal hiring had simply kept pace with the rate of Canada’s population growth taxpayers would have saved $7.5 billion.
• The reduced spending on federal employees would lower the federal deficit, which is expected to exceed $35.3 billion in 2022/23.

Ben Eisen

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute

Milagros Palacios

Director, Addington Centre for Measurement, Fraser Institute

From the Fraser Institute

By Michael Zwaagstra

Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents.

This week, the Smith government in Alberta will likely pass Bill 27, which requires schools to get signed permission from parents or guardians prior to any lessons on human sexuality, gender identity or sexual orientation.

It’s a sensible move. The government is proactively ensuring that students are in these classes because their parents want them there. Given the sensitive nature of these topics, for everyone’s sake it makes sense to ensure parental buy-in at the outset.

Unfortunately, many school trustees don’t agree. A recent resolution passed by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) calls on the Smith government to maintain the status quo where parents are assumed to have opted in to these lessons unless they contact the school and opt their children out. Apparently, the ASBA thinks parents can’t be trusted to make the right decisions for their children on this issue.

This ASBA resolution is, in fact, a good example of the reflexive opposition by government school trustees to parental rights. They don’t want parents to take control of their children’s education, especially in sensitive areas. Fortunately, the Alberta government rebuffed ASBA’s demands and this attempt to abolish Bill 27 will likely fall on deaf ears.

However, there’s an even better safeguard available to Alberta parents—school choice. Out of all Canadian provinces, Alberta offers the most school choice. Not only does Alberta have a fully funded separate (Catholic) school system, it also provides between 60 and 70 per cent operational funding to accredited independent schools. In addition, Alberta is the only province in Canada to allow fully funded charter schools. And Alberta subsidizes homeschooling parents. Simply put, parents who are dissatisfied with the government school system have plenty of options—more than parents in any other province. This means Alberta parents can vote with their feet.

Things are quite different in other parts of the country. For example, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces do not allow any provincial funding to follow students to independent schools. In other words, parents in these provinces who choose an independent school must pay the full cost themselves—while still paying taxes that fund government schools. And no province other than Alberta allows charter schools.

This is why it’s important to give parents as much school choice as possible. Given the tendency of government school boards to remove choices from parents, it’s important that all parents, including those with limited means, have other options available for their children.

Imagine if the owners of a large grocery store tried to impose their dietary preferences by removing all meat products and telling customers that the only way they could purchase meat is to make a special order. What would happen in that scenario? It depends on what other options are available. If this was the only grocery store in the community, customers would have no choice but to comply. However, if there were other stores, customers could simply shop elsewhere. Choice empowers people and limits the ability of one company to limit the choices of people who live in the community.

Think of government school boards as a monopolistic service provider like a grocery store. They often do everything possible to prevent parents from going anywhere else for their children’s education. Trusting them to do what’s best for parents and children is like assuming that the owners of a grocery store would always put the interests of their customers first and not their own self-interest. Monopolies are bad in the private sector and they’re bad in the education sector, too.

Clearly, it makes sense to require schools to get proactive consent from parents. This ensures maximum buy-in from parents for whatever courses their children take. It’s also important that Alberta remains a bastion of school choice. By making it easier for parents to choose from a variety of education options, Alberta puts power in the hands of parents, exactly where it belongs. Parents in other provinces should want that same power, too.

Michael Zwaagstra

Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute