National
Bureaucrat booze bill cost taxpayers $51,000 a month

From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
By Ryan Thorpe
“Working” in government may be a thirsty profession, but a booze tab of $51,000 a month is definitely a problem.
And the problem gets worse when the bill is sent to taxpayers.
Global Affairs Canada bureaucrats spent more than $3.3 million on alcohol between January 2019 and May 2024, according to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
That means the department spent an average of $51,000 on beer, wine and spirits per month.
“The government is wasting our tax dollars faster than we can say bottoms up,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Is any politician going to look a single struggling Canadian in the eye and try to justify the government spending thousands of dollars on wine tastings and cocktail parties?”
The largest single order from Global Affairs Canada came on Feb. 20, 2019, when bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., spent $56,684 on “wine purchases from special store.”
Other large orders include $9,815 worth of wine expensed by bureaucrats in Beijing, China, in March 2021, and $8,912 worth of wine expensed by bureaucrats in New Delhi, India, in May 2022.
Orders flown off to bureaucrats in far flung locales like Oslo, Tokyo, Moscow and London routinely run into the thousands of dollars per shipment.
At times, the records obtained by the CTF indicate the alcohol was purchased for a specific purpose – such as an official event or reception, or in one case, a $1,024 booze-filled “trivia night.”
But in many cases, the records provide no explanation beyond “bulk alcohol purchase” or “replenishment of wine stock.”
“The price of booze went up when Ottawa increased alcohol taxes, but that’s not a good excuse for these runaway bills,” Terrazzano said. “I like to party as much as the next guy, but maybe these bureaucrats could chill it on the cold ones when the government is more than $1 trillion in debt and taxpayers are struggling.”
On March 19, 2019, bureaucrats in San Jose, California, expensed $8,153 worth of booze. Just 12 days later, those bureaucrats spent another $2,196 on booze.
On Jan. 23, 2020, bureaucrats in Reykjavik, Iceland, bought $8,074 worth of booze, only to follow it up with a $2,849 alcohol purchase less than two months later.
Roughly $1.9 million of the spending came under the Canadian Alcoholic Beverages Abroad program, formerly known as the Canadian Wine Initiative.
The Canadian Wine Initiative was launched in 2004 with a mandate of supporting the country’s booze industry by promoting it abroad.
The rest of the spending was miscellaneous alcohol purchases billed to taxpayers. The records obtained by the CTF give no indication any of the $3.3 million spent on alcohol was recouped by taxpayers.
An access-to-information analyst at Global Affairs Canada told the CTF the department doesn’t centrally track its alcohol purchases. As a result, it’s possible Global Affairs Canada spent more than $3.3. million on booze.
The records obtained by the CTF only detail alcohol purchases from Global Affairs Canada. According to the government of Canada’s website, there are more than 200 other federal departments, Crown corporations and agencies.
“These bureaucrats seem like they’re having a good time, but what value are taxpayers getting from this huge booze bill?” Terrazzano said. “Billing taxpayers $51,000 a month for booze is mind boggling, but what’s even crazier is this tab is just for one government department.”
2025 Federal Election
‘I’m Cautiously Optimistic’: Doug Ford Strongly Recommends Canada ‘Not To Retaliate’ Against Trump’s Tariffs

From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jason Cohen
Ontario Premier Doug Ford urged Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to avoid retaliation against the tariffs President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday.
Trump announced in the White House Rose Garden that he would impose “a minimum baseline tariff of 10%” on all goods entering the United States, with Canada not being included on the list of countries with higher rates. When asked about what Canada’s response would be on “Bloomberg: Balance of Power,” Ford said he was “cautiously optimistic” about Canada’s omission from the higher-tier tariffs and emphasized the importance of a cooperative relationship with the U.S.
WATCH:
“Well, let’s see where these tariffs go. I’m cautiously optimistic that I never saw Canada or Mexico on that list. And it just goes to show you two great countries working together, collaborating together and building relationships,” Ford said. “So again, I’m cautiously optimistic. I think if that’s the case, it’s the right thing for both the U.S and Canada.”
Host Kailey Leinz noted that there are currently tariffs on Canada in place as well as an exemption for goods that are in compliance with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
“Does that mean, sir, at least in your mind, that it wouldn’t be appropriate for Canada to retaliate for this at this time?” Leinz asked.
“That is correct. If that’s the case, then I would highly recommend to the prime minister not to retaliate. And let’s carry on a strong relationship,” Ford answered. “Let’s build the American-Canadian fortress around both countries and be the wealthiest, most prosperous, safest two countries in the world.”
Trump declared a national emergency to levy a slew of reciprocal tariffs on what he has deemed “Liberation Day.”
“My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day, April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,” Trump said.
The president also announced that he would proceed with implementing a 25% tariff on “all foreign-made automobiles” that will take effect at midnight.
Ford in March had imposed a 25% surcharge on electricity to New York, Michigan and Minnesota, but promptly rescinded the policy and apologized to Americans on WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” radio show the following day. The tariffs were a retaliatory measure against Trump’s flurry of tariffs against Canada since starting his second term.
2025 Federal Election
Liberal MP resigns after promoting Chinese government bounty on Conservative rival

From LifeSiteNews
“I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty,” he said at a recent rally. “What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?”
Liberal MP candidate Paul Chiang has dropped out of the running after being exposed for suggesting Canadians turn in a Conservative Party candidate to the Chinese consulate to collect a bounty placed on the man by the communist regime.
In an March 31 statement, Chiang, the Liberal candidate for the Markham-Unionville riding, announced his departure from the race after a video of him suggesting a bounty could be claimed for Conservative candidate Joe Tay by handing him over to Chinese authorities circulated on social media. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have announced they are “probing” the comments.
“I am proud of what we have achieved together and I remain deeply grateful for the trust placed in me,” he said. “This is a uniquely important election with so much at stake for Canadians. As the Prime Minister and Team Canada work to stand up to President Trump and protect our economy, I do not want any distractions in this critical moment.”
“That’s why I’m standing aside as our 2025 candidate in our community of Markham-Unionville,” he announced.
Chiang’s resignation follows backlash from Conservatives and Canadians alike when a January video from a news conference with Chinese-language media in Toronto resurfaced.
In the video, Chiang jokingly suggested that Tay, his then-Conservative rival for the Markham–Unionville riding, could be turned over to the Chinese Consulate General in Toronto in return for $1-million Hong Kong dollar bounty, about $183,000 CAD.
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre was quick to call out Chiang’s suggestion and blasted Prime Minister Mark Carney for keeping him on the ballot.
“I find it incredible that Mark Carney would allow someone to run for his party that called for a Canadian citizen to be handed over to a foreign government on a bounty,” he said at a recent rally. “What does that say about whether Mark Carney would protect Canadians?”
Chiang has since apologized for his suggestion on both social media and personally to Tay.
“Today, I spoke with Joseph Tay, the Conservative candidate for Don Valley North, to personally apologize for the comments that I made this past January,” he wrote in a March 30 X post.
“It was a terrible lapse of judgement. I recognize the severity of the statement and I am deeply disappointed in myself,” he continued.
Carney has said remarkably little regarding the situation. First, he refused to fire the Liberal candidate, referring to Chiang’s statement as a “terrible lapse of judgment.”
“He’s made his apology. He’s made it to the public, he’s made it to the individual concerned, he’s made it directly to me, and he’s going to continue with his candidacy,” Carney said. “He has my confidence.”
Then, following the announcement of Chaing’s resignation, Carney told reporters that it was time to “move on” and that he would “leave it at that.”
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