Business
Corporate welfare billions over budget – Parliamentary Budget Officer
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Jay Goldberg
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on politicians to reject recent corporate welfare for multinational battery manufacturers following today’s Parliamentary Budget Officer report showing multi-billion dollar cost overruns.
“Politicians said the Northvolt, Volkswagen and Stellantis deals would cost taxpayers almost $38 billion, but the PBO report shows the bills will be billions higher,” said CTF Ontario Director Jay Goldberg. “Governments have a terrible track record on corporate welfare and there’s a real risk these overruns will soar even higher.”
Today’s PBO report shows the combined handouts to Northvolt, Volkswagen and Stellantis will cost taxpayers $5.8 billion more over the next decade than originally promised. These cost increases are projected for corporate welfare handouts governments announced this year.
The PBO report also shows that it will take far longer for these corporate welfare projects to break even. Politicians told Canadians that taxpayers would recoup the cash given out to Volkswagen within five years. The PBO is now projecting break-even points of 11 years for Northvolt, 15 years for Volkswagen and 23 years for Stellantis.
“The PBO report is proof taxpayers shouldn’t trust politicians when they promise the moon and the stars on corporate welfare deals,” Goldberg said. “Given the awful track record governments have on corporate welfare deals, taxpayers are most likely to break even somewhere between 23 years from now and never.”
Business
Salary costs in Prime Minister’s Office increase under Trudeau
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Ryan Thorpe
Like all areas of Ottawa’s ballooning bureaucracy, the cost and size of the Prime Minister’s Office has increased under the Trudeau government.
The inflation-adjusted cost of staffing the PMO has risen by 16 per cent under the watch of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Salary costs for the 103 staffers in the PMO came to $10.5 million in 2022-23. That figure does not represent overall compensation for PMO staff (including benefits), but rather base salary, according to the records.
Taxpayers are now on the hook for an additional $3.2 million in annual PMO salary costs over 2014-15, the last full year former prime minister Stephen Harper was in office.
“The cost of running the PMO has increased under Trudeau, but it’s a good bet most Canadians don’t think they’re getting any better performance from the prime minister,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “If Trudeau can’t find savings right under his nose, how can taxpayers trust him to cut the fat across government?”
The growth in PMO staff comes at a time when the Trudeau government has been ballooning the federal bureaucracy across the board.
Both the number and cost of the federal bureaucracy has exploded under Trudeau’s watch, according to other government records obtained by the CTF.
The number of federal bureaucrats increased by 42 per cent under Trudeau, with more than 108,000 new bureaucrats added to the government payroll.
Spending on federal bureaucrats hit a record high $67.4 billion in 2022-23, representing a 68 per cent increase since 2016.
The size of the federal c-suite has also expanded, with the number of executives increasing by 42 per cent under Trudeau.
The Trudeau government has handed out more than $1 billion in bonuses since 2015 and more than one million pay raises in the last four years.
Meanwhile, spending on consultants also reached a record high, with planned expenditures for 2023-24 sitting at $21.6 billion.
“Everywhere you look – the PMO, the federal c-suite, the bureaucracy – the cost and size of government is out of control,” Terrazzano said. “Trudeau must take air out of Ottawa’s ballooning bureaucracy and the place to start is his own office.”
PMO staff costs, government records obtained by the CTF
Fiscal year |
Number of PMO staff |
PMO salary costs |
2014-15 |
94 |
$7,258,436 |
2015-16 |
74 |
$6,353,188 |
2016-17 |
84 |
$7,462,686 |
2017-18 |
99 |
$8,155,068 |
2018-19 |
100 |
$8,479,353 |
2019-20 |
90 |
$8,536,672 |
2020-21 |
99 |
$9,840,834 |
2021-22 |
94 |
$9,383,328 |
2022-23 |
103 |
$10,536,649 |
Total |
|
$76,006,214 |
Business
Parks Canada right to back down from deer-cull boondoggle
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Carson Binda
Taxpayers are glad to see Parks Canada backing away from a $12-million deer cull on Sidney Island.
“Parks Canada’s plan to blow $12-million on a deer cull was ridiculous from day one,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “Parks Canada is right to cancel the project, but it’s worrying that it took them this much wasted money to figure it out.”
Parks Canada used so-called sharpshooters in helicopters, firing down on invasive fallow deer from above, during phase one of the cull which occurred last December. The so-called sharpshooters killed 84 deer, but only 63 were the correct species. The cost for phase one came in at $834,000, roughly $10,000 per deer.
Subsequently, Parks Canada erected fencing made of fish nets around the 12-square-kilometer Island to trap the deer, in anticipation for a second round of culls which were scheduled for Nov. 15.
Several animals became entangled in the netting, painfully thrashing themselves to death.
“Seeing deer thrashing to death because of bureaucratic incompetence is heartbreaking,” Binda said. “Parks Canada needs to explain how this happened and how much taxpayer cash was wasted on this project before the cancellation.”
Residents of Sidney Island and local hunters have been culling deer on the island for years, for free. Last fall 54 deer were culled by local hunters at no cost to the taxpayer.
“Local hunters filling their freezers at no cost to the taxpayer is obviously better than Parks Canada blowing millions of dollars to shoot the wrong deer from helicopters and leaving others to suffer in a net,” Binda said. “Hopefully the bureaucrats learn from their mistakes with this boondoggle.”
-
Agriculture2 days ago
2024 harvest wrap-up: Minister Sigurdson
-
Health2 days ago
How the Trump-RFK Jr. coalition could realign US politics against Big Pharma and Big Food
-
Business2 days ago
Canada’s struggle against transnational crime & money laundering
-
Alberta2 days ago
39 percent increase in funding for RCMP instigates discussion about future policing for rural Alberta
-
Red Deer2 days ago
Chamber urges city council to look harder at cutting costs
-
Addictions2 days ago
Alberta closing Red Deer’s only overdose prevention site in favor of recovery model
-
espionage2 days ago
Scathing Report Reveals How Deadly Pathogens and Sensitive Research Walked Out the Door Under Justin Trudeau’s Watch
-
Alberta1 day ago
For second year in a row, Alberta oil and gas companies spend more than required on cleanup