Business
Time to cut government fat(cats)!
News release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
You’re not just paying for more government bureaucrats than ever.
You’re also paying for more government executives than ever to oversee those bureaucrats as they fail to deliver for you.
The federal government’s c-suite has ballooned by 42 per cent since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took power. And those executives are paid up to $255,607 every year, on top of the bonuses and benefits they rake in.
And speaking of overpaid government executives…
CBC President Catherine Tait might take a bonus and severance pay out when she leaves the state broadcaster in the new year.
All that and more in this week’s Taxpayer Waste Watch. Enjoy.
Franco.
Time to cut the fat(cats)!
Forget Springfield, Ohio, we’ve got a problem with cats of a different sort in Ottawa – government fat cats.
Everywhere you look – from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Crown corporations to the departments – the cost and size of the bureaucracy is up.
Take the federal c-suite, which has increased by 42 per cent under the watch of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
There were 6,414 executives in the federal government when Trudeau took power.
Fast forward to today, and that number has jumped to 9,155.
That means Trudeau isn’t just ballooning the size of government in general, he’s also swelling the ranks of its most expensive bureaucrats.
Records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation reveal growth among every class of executive under Trudeau.
The salaries for those executives range from $134,827 to $255,607 per year, not including benefits or bonuses.
And you better believe those executives are taking bonuses.
About 90 per cent of federal executives get a bonus each year, according to additional records obtained by the CTF.
In fact, Trudeau dished out $202 million in bonuses in 2022, with the average bonus among executives being $18,252.
All told, compensation for federal executives was $1.95 billion that year, which represented a 41 per cent increase over 2015.
The size of the entire federal bureaucracy has also increased by 42 per cent under Trudeau, with more than 108,000 new bureaucrats added to the taxpayer dole.
Spending on federal bureaucrats hit a record high last year, at $67.4 billion, representing a 68 per cent increase since 2016.
Meanwhile, spending on consultants has also reached a record high, with expenditures for 2023 sitting at $21.6 billion.
So let’s get this straight.
Trudeau ballooned the government c-suite by 42 per cent.
He’s added 108,000 new bureaucrats.
He’s spending 68 per cent more on those bureaucrats, while also dropping more money on outside consultants than any prime minister in Canadian history.
And yet, despite all this new staff, all this outside help, and all this spending, government departments still can’t hit 50 per cent of their performance targets each year.
How is that even possible?
Can someone – anyone – explain what the heck is going on?
Because only one thing is for certain: taxpayers are getting screwed.
CBC President Catherine Tait won’t rule out bonus, severance
The president of everyone’s favourite state broadcaster – Catherine Tait – was back in Ottawa this week to answer questions about CBC bonuses.
During her testimony at the House of Commons Heritage Committee, Tait was asked by Conservative MP Damien Kurek if she would commit to not taking a severance pay out or a bonus when her term at the CBC ends in January 2025.
“I consider that to be a personal matter,” Tait said.
Does that sound like a “personal matter” to you? We certainly don’t think so.
Tait taking a taxpayer-funded bonus or severance pay out, on top of her six-figure, taxpayer-funded salary, is the furthest thing in the world from a “personal matter.”
It’s your money, so you have every right to know.
Canada falls behind on tax competitiveness
The results are in and they’re not good…
The Tax Foundation’s 2024 International Tax Competitiveness Index was released this week. The report compares tax systems for the 38 countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
And the report shows that Canada has fallen behind many of our peers on tax competitiveness.
Canada ranked 17th on overall tax competitiveness, two spots worse than last year.
Canada ranked 31st on individual tax competitiveness.
Canada ranked 26th on business tax competitiveness.
Canada ranked 25th on property tax competitiveness.
The report also noted that Canada’s capital gain tax is “well above” the OECD average.
VIDEO: Here’s why Trudeau’s carbon tax is a scam
The Trudeau government is running a $7-million ad campaign to try to spin Canadians on the carbon tax.
The CTF is fighting back with a campaign of our own.
In the video below, CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano refutes Trudeau’s favourite talking points with cold hard facts and explains why the carbon tax is a scam.
By Gage Haubrich
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation released Leger polling showing Canadians want the federal government to cut spending and shrink the size and cost of the bureaucracy.
“The poll shows most Canadians want the federal government to cut spending,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “Canadians know they pay too much tax because the government wastes too much money.”
Between 2019 and 2024, federal government spending increased 26 per cent even after accounting for inflation. Leger asked Canadians what they think should happen to federal government spending in the next five years. Results of the poll show:
- 43 per cent say reduce spending
- 20 per cent say increase spending
- 16 per cent say maintain spending
- 20 per cent don’t know
The federal government added 108,000 bureaucrats and increased the cost of the bureaucracy 73 per cent since 2016. Leger asked Canadians what they think should happen to the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy. Results of the poll show:
- 53 per cent say reduce
- 24 per cent say maintain
- 4 per cent say increase
- 19 per cent don’t know
Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised to “balance the operating budget in three years.” Leger asked Canadians if they believed Carney’s promise to balance the budget. Results of the poll show:
- 58 per cent are skeptical
- 32 per cent are confident
- 10 per cent don’t know
“Any politician that wants to fix the budget and cut taxes will need to shrink the size and cost of Ottawa’s bloated bureaucracy,” Haubrich said. “The polls show Canadians want to put the federal government on a diet and they won’t trust promises about balancing the budget unless politicians present credible plans.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is criticizing Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney’s budget plan for adding another $225 billion to the debt.
“Carney plans to borrow even more money than the Trudeau government planned to borrow,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Carney claims he’s not like Trudeau and when it comes to the debt, here’s the truth: Carney’s plan is billions of dollars worse than Trudeau’s plan.”
Today, Carney released the Liberal Party’s “fiscal and costing plan.” Carney’s plan projects the debt to increase consistently.
Here is the breakdown of Carney’s annual budget deficits:
- 2025-26: $62 billion
- 2026-27: $60 billion
- 2027-28: $55 billion
- 2028-29: $48 billion
Over the next four years, Carney plans to add an extra $225 billion to the debt. For comparison, the Trudeau government planned on increasing the debt by $131 billion over those years, according to the most recent Fall Economic Statement.
Carney’s additional debt means he will waste an extra $5.6 billion on debt interest charges over the next four years. Debt interest charges already cost taxpayers $54 billion every year – more than $1 billion every week.
“Carney’s debt binge means he will waste $1 billion more every year on debt interest charges,” Terrazzano said. “Carney’s plan isn’t credible and it’s even more irresponsible than the Trudeau plan.
“After years of runaway spending Canadians need a government that will cut spending and stop wasting so much money on debt interest charges.”
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