Business
Feds build $8 million “barn” at Rideau Hall
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Ryan Thorpe
As Canadians across the country tightened their belts the past few years, the federal government was busy building an $8-million Barn on the grounds of Rideau Hall to serve as a storage facility.
The little-known, but pricey, pandemic-era construction project was overseen by the National Capital Commission, the feds’ supercharged parks-and-rec department responsible for maintaining Canada’s official residences.
Details of the project emerged from access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. All told, the Barn cost taxpayers $8,049,853.
To put that in perspective, that’s enough money to buy this “palatial mansion” on the banks of the Rideau Canal, described as “Ottawa’s most opulent home.”
“I don’t know much about farming, but I’m pretty sure my buddies in Brooks can build a barn for a lot less than eight million bucks,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “It seems like the NCC goes out of its way to spend as much money as possible.”
The two-storey facility, billed as the government’s first “zero-carbon” building, is called the Barn and serves as a “working and storage space,” according to the NCC.
The NCC approved the final design for the project in June 2019. Shovels hit the dirt in July 2020, with construction wrapping up during the winter of 2021.
The Barn features a “washing bay,” a “repair garage working area,” a “tool and equipment storage area,” “vehicle storage,” and additional “storage space.”
The records obtained by the CTF indicate there were several “change orders” on the project, which means the design was changed after construction began.
The NCC has a long history of complaining of “decades of underfunding” or “chronic underfunding” when it comes to Canada’s six official residences, which are the taxpayer-funded mansions for politicians, the governor general and visiting foreign officials.
But a recent report from the CTF revealed the NCC spent $135 million renovating and maintaining the properties from 2006 to 2022.
Nevertheless, the NCC claims it needs another $175 million from taxpayers to “restore” the official residences over the next decade.
“It’s ridiculous for the NCC to be crying poor when it blew $8 million on a Barn,” Terrazzano said. “If the NCC can’t figure out how to manage properties without costing taxpayers an arm and a leg, then the government needs to find someone else who can.
From The Center Square
By Casey Harper
The U.S. Agency for International Development is facing criticism after news broke that federal employees were reportedly told to burn or shred classified documents.
USAID has been the center of controversy since President Donald Trump took office, and billionaire Elon Musk directed the Department of Government Efficiency to expose a slew of spending items widely mocked and criticized, from transgender operas to propaganda overseas and more.
A senior USAID official reportedly sent a memo to employees directing them to destroy the documents, raising questions about legality and transparency at the embattled agency.
“Shred as many documents first, and reserve the burn bags for when the shredder becomes unavailable or needs a break,” reads the email obtained by Politico.
Hans von Spakovsky, a legal expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, wrote on X that “these employees are committing felonies under 18 USC 1519 in destroying Gov documents,” arguing that they “should all be criminally prosecuted especially acting director of USAID.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last week that 83% of of USAID contracts were terminated, though a federal judge has limited the federal government’s ability to stop paying out at least some contracts. Where this lands legally remains unclear as it works its way through the courts.
“In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping (approximately 1000) to now be administered more effectively under the State Department,” Rubio said.
Casey Harper
D.C. Bureau Reporter
Business
Ontario Premier Doug Ford Apologizes To Americans After Threatening Energy Price Hike For Millions
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By
Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologized to Americans Tuesday after he suspended a 25% electricity surcharge that he initially said he would be “relentless” in pursuing.
Ford implemented a 25% surcharge on electricity to New York, Michigan and Minnesota on Monday, but quickly rescinded the policy and apologized to Americans on WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” radio show the following day. The tariffs were initially a retaliatory measure against President Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs against Canada since he assumed office.
Canada is highly dependent on U.S. exports, economists told CNN, and the planned electricity surcharge would likely hurt Canada’s energy industry much more than it would the U.S., although an estimated 1.5 million homes and businesses would have been affected.
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“I want to apologize to the American people. I spent 20 years of my life in the US, in New Jersey, in Chicago. I love the American people,” Ford said. “I absolutely love them … Secretary Lutnick and President Trump are brilliant businesspeople. They are hard negotiators. We need to put this behind us and move forward and build the two strongest countries in the world.”
Initially, Ford had a much more aggressive tone when he instituted the tariffs.
“We will not back down. We will be relentless. I apologize to the American people that President Trump decided to have an unprovoked attack on our country, on families, on jobs, and it’s unacceptable,” Ford said on MSNBC in response to Trump’s hiking of steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump, in turn, threatened to increase the steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada to 50%, with the increase going into effect the next day.
Ford then talked with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, with the premier describing the call as “productive.” Once Ford backed down on his plan to implement the export fees, Trump reversed his planned hike to 50% on steel and aluminum tariffs. Ford is expected to meet with Lutnick Thursday in Washington, D.C.
If a deal is not reached by the April 2 deadline, the tariffs will resume.
Ontario sold around 12 terawatt hours of electricity to America in 2023, with the U.S. being Ontario’s largest energy customer outside Canada. The tariff would have likely added “100$ a month” to the bill of Americans in the affected states, Ford claimed according to CNN.
The U.S. and Canada have entered into a contested debate over trade policies, with Canada announcing an additional $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs on American goods in response to Trump’s initial 25% steel and aluminum tariffs.
Trump initially gained concessions from Canada in February, forcing them to aid in curtailing the illegal fentanyl trade in exchange for a pause on a 25% general goods tariff enacted Feb. 1. However, Trump eventually let the pause expire, with the tariff resuming in March.
“Canada is a tariff abuser, and always has been, but the United States is not going to be subsidizing Canada any longer,” Trump said on Truth Social Mar. 10.
The Ontario Premier’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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