Craziest examples of government waste – Taxpayer Waste Watch

News release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

The feds are spending millions of your tax dollars trying to “green” their offices. Then the government is spending millions more of your tax dollars flying battalions of bureaucrats and politicians around the world.

Here’s a crazy idea: the government could save you money, and cut down on emissions, by skipping out on a couple taxpayer-funded international conferences.

Plus, we’ve compiled the craziest examples of government waste in one video. You’re going to love the video, but hate the waste.

All that and more in this week’s Taxpayer Waste Watch. Enjoy.

Franco.

Bank of Canada fixes with its left hand, what it breaks with its right

They say hypocrites are the kind of people who will cut down a tree, only to stand on the stump and give a speech about the importance of protecting forests.

Someone should get the fat cats at the Bank of Canada on the horn and let them know about that particular definition.

In recent years, the Bank of Canada dumped millions of your tax dollars into a green initiative aimed at lowering its carbon footprint.

Meanwhile, at the exact same time, its executives have been racking up frequent flyer miles while globetrotting to exotic, far-flung locales.

Burning through jet fuel and your tax dollars in the process.

Since 2020, the Bank of Canada dropped $4.1 million on its “greening the bank” initiative, a multi-year effort to measure and reduce its carbon footprint.

More than $1 million has been spent on internal program costs, alongside $950,000 on external consultants and studies, and $2.1 million on green investments.

On top of the greening the bank initiative, the Bank of Canada also signed a contract with the Delphi Group for up to $300,000.

The Delphi Group is a consulting firm “specializing in climate change, sustainability and ESG,” according to its website.

Six staff from the Delphi Group will aid the Bank of Canada’s “annual quantification of its GHG inventory,” according to records obtained by the CTF.

But if the Bank of Canada is looking for ways to lower its carbon footprint, it doesn’t need to spend millions hiring consultants.

All it has to do is look at its executives’ expense reports.

In 2023, Bank of Canada executives racked up $535,000 in travel expenses.

Bank executives took dozens of trips to exotic destinations, including Portugal, Japan, Greece, France, Sweden, Germany, India, Peru, the West Indies and Switzerland.

Bank Governor Tiff Macklem racked up $179,000 in travel expenses alone.

Macklem took 26 separate trips, including four visits to Switzerland, two to Sweden, two to India and one each to Morocco, Portugal, Japan and the Caymen Islands.

So first you’re forced to pay for first-class airfare so bank executives can jet set around the globe to attend conferences and give speeches.

And then you’re forced to pay for millions in consultant fees because the big brains at the central bank are confused why their carbon footprint is so high.

Needless to say, if they can’t crack that puzzle, then it’s little wonder why inflation has run rampant while ravaging the paycheques of taxpayers like you.

But don’t worry, folks.

If the bank runs out of your cash to blow on all these vacations – erm, sorry, we mean “work trips” – we’re sure they’ll just fire up the money printer to cover the costs.

Franco’s note: Any time we write about the Bank of Canada I need to mention this:

The Bank of Canada has one job: keep inflation low and around two per cent. Bank of Canada bureaucrats got $20 million in bonuses in 2022 while it hiked interest rates seven times and inflation reached a 40-year high.

This should go without saying, but bonuses are for people who do a good job, not people who fail at their one and only job.

Trudeau wants to spend your money on…

Every year, the federal government tables main and supplementary estimate documents that detail how your money will be allocated to fund government programs.

But with all the shenanigans currently holding up the House of Commons, the Trudeau government is worried they may not be able to fund these government schemes.

It’s a good bet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his minions will claim a vote is needed to make sure struggling Canadians get the help they need.

But the CTF read through the entirety of the recently-released Supplementary Estimates report to see what sort of spending the feds are actually proposing:

$970 million to cover pay raises for bureaucrats
$4.5 million for government advertising
$46 million for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup
$20 million for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Canada Media Fund
$200,000 for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plan to plant two billion trees
$45 million for the gun confiscation scheme
$6.9 million for pro-carbon tax ads
$5.5 million for the Toronto Film Festival
$3.4 million for settlements related to the Phoenix payroll fiasco

Does any of that sound like necessary government spending to you?

VIDEO: Craziest government waste

We’ve said it time and time again.

You pay too much tax because the government wastes too much money.

Don’t believe us? Then watch (and share) the video below.

CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano brings the receipts on some of the craziest government waste that’s out of Ottawa in recent years.

The taxpayer reading list

If you’re looking for more reading on taxpayer issues, we’ve got you covered.

Canada’s EV gamble looks even more foolish with Trump retaking the White House: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/jay-goldberg-canadas-ev-gamble-looks-even-more-foolish-with-trump-retaking-the-white-house

Government employees scored $150M in standby pay last year: https://torontosun.com/news/national/government-employees-scored-150m-in-standby-pay-last-year-documents

Saskatoon spent more than $300,000 to name new bus system: https://www.taxpayer.com/newsroom/saskatoon-spent-more-than-300,000-to-name-new-bus-system

Confirms $523K Rush Orders: https://www.blacklocks.ca/confirms-523k-rush-orders/

Trudeau’s bureaucracy boom: Salaries and spending spiralling out of control: https://www.rebelnews.com/trudeau_s_bureaucracy_boom_salaries_and_spending_spiraling_out_of_control

Premier Holt’s carbon tax flip-flop: https://tj.news/new-brunswick/devin-drover-premier-holts-carbon-tax-flip-flop

Related Topics:#CanadianTaxpayersFederation #FrancoTerrazzano

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Next federal government should reverse Ottawa’s plastics ban

Published on March 6, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Julio Mejía and Elmira Aliakbari

As noted by the Trudeau government, plastic substitutes contribute to lower air quality and “typically have higher climate change impacts” due to higher GHG emissions.

Recently at the White House, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing the Biden administration’s plan to phase out plastic straws. The Trudeau government, however, continues with its plan to ban single-use plastics, even though this prohibition will have minimal impact worldwide, will actually increase waste in Canada, and force a transition to alternatives that impose greater environmental harm. Rather than doubling down on a flawed policy, the next federal government should reverse Trudeau’s plastic ban.

In 2021, the Trudeau government classified plastic items as “toxic,” paving the way for the ban on the manufacturing, importing and selling of checkout bags, cutlery, stir sticks and straws—all single-use plastics. In 2023, the Federal Court deemed the designation “unreasonable and unconstitutional”—but the Trudeau government defended the measure and is appealing, with a ruling expected this year.

According to the latest available data, Canada’s contributes 0.04 per cent to global plastic waste. The United States contributes 0.43 per cent—more than 10 times Canada’s share. But neither country is a major contributor to global plastic waste.

According to a 2024 article published in Nature, a leading scientific journal, no western country ranks among the top 90 global plastic polluters, thanks to their near-total waste collection and controlled disposal systems. Conversely, eight countries—India, Nigeria, Indonesia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil—generate more than half of global plastic waste. And nearly 75 per cent of the world’s ocean plastic comes from Asia with only six countries (Philippines, India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia and Myanmar) accounting for most of the world’s ocean plastic pollution.

The Trudeau government’s own science assessment, cited in the court appeal, states that 99 per cent of Canada’s plastic waste is already disposed of safely through recycling, incinerating and environmentally-friendly landfills. Despite these facts, plastic has become a target for blanket restrictions without fully considering its benefits or the downsides of switching to alternatives.

Consider this. Plastics are lightweight, durable and indispensable to modern life. From medical devices, food packaging, construction materials, textiles, electronics and agricultural equipment, plastics play a critical role in sectors that improve living standards.

Alternatives to plastic come with their own environmental cost. Again, according to the government’s own analysis, banning single-use plastics will actually increase waste generation rather than reduce it. While the government expects to remove 1.5 million tonnes of plastics by 2032 with the prohibition, it will generate nearly twice as much that weight in waste from alternatives such as paper, wood and aluminum over the same period. Put simply, the ban will result in more, not less, waste in Canada.

And there’s more. Studies suggest that plastic substitutes such as paper are heavier, require more water and energy to be produced, demand more energy to transport, contribute to greater smog formation, present more ozone depletion potential and result in higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As noted by the Trudeau government, plastic substitutes contribute to lower air quality and “typically have higher climate change impacts” due to higher GHG emissions.

While plastic pollution is a pressing global environmental issue, Canada is not a major contributor to this problem. The rationale behind the Trudeau government’s plastic ban lacks foundation, and as major economies including the U.S. go back to plastic, Canada’s plastic prohibition becomes increasingly futile. The next federal government, whoever that may be, should reverse this plastic ban, which will do more harm than good.

Julio Mejía

Policy Analyst

Elmira Aliakbari

Director, Natural Resource Studies, Fraser Institute

Business

Trump walks back tariffs on Mexico, Canada for another month

Published on March 6, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Brett Rowland

Stocks sunk Thursday afternoon despite President Donald Trump’s decision to grant major exceptions to the 25% tariffs he put on Mexico and Canada earlier this week.

All three major U.S. market indexes were in the red by the time of Trump’s afternoon bill signing. Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office that steel and aluminum tariffs were on track for next week without modifications.

Trump shrugged off the stock losses, blaming the decline on “globalists.”

“I think it’s globalists that see how rich our country is going to be and don’t like it,” he said.

Trump has promised that his tariffs would shift the tax burden away from Americans and onto foreign countries, but tariffs are generally paid by the people who import the products. Those importers then have a choice: They can either absorb the loss or pass it on to consumers through higher prices. He also promised tariffs would make America “rich as hell.” And he’s used tariffs as a negotiating tactic to tighten border security.

Trump granted temporary tariff relief to both Canada and Mexico on Thursday by exempting goods under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement from tariffs until April 2.

On April 2, Trump plans to announce broader reciprocal tariffs against countries that impose tariffs on U.S. goods or keep U.S. goods out of their markets through other methods.

Since imposing his latest round of tariffs on top of trading partners this week, Trump has been paring them back. On Wednesday, Trump said the Big Three automakers – Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV – would be exempt from his tariffs for a month.

In February, Trump took a step forward on his plan to put reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners by signing a memo directing staff to come up with solutions in 180 days. Trump previously said he would put those tariffs in place on April 2 to avoid any confusion on April 1.

In his joint address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump said all countries would have to either make their products in the U.S. or be subject to tariffs.

“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them,” Trump said. “If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, governs trade between the U.S. and its northern and southern neighbors. It went into force on July 1, 2020. Trump signed the deal. That agreement continued to allow for duty-free trading between the three countries for products largely made in North America.

U.S. goods and services trade with USMCA totaled an estimated $1.8 trillion in 2022. Exports were $789.7 billion and imports were $974.3 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with USMCA was $184.6 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.