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Strike Two for Guilbeault – Federal Court Overturns Plastics Ban

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From EnergyNow.ca

coalition of concerned manufacturers & businesses of canada

In a welcome decision by the Federal Court, the plastics ban first implemented in 2022 by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has been struck down by the Federal Court. Catherine Swift, President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses Canada (CCMBC) stated “Every one of the three reasons this ban was opposed by the plastics industry and the governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan were supported by this court decision. It was a slam dunk against overreach by the Environment Minister and the Trudeau government.”

The court decision cited as unreasonable the inclusion of plastic material as toxic under the Environmental Protection Act, as well as deeming the Environment Minister’s refusal to have a Board of Review assess the risks of plastic materials unreasonable. In addition, as the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan joined in the industry’s legal action on the basis that the federal government was overstepping its jurisdiction and the law was effectively unconstitutional, the court agreed with that as well.

As an organization that represents a number of plastics manufacturers as well as oil and gas producers which provide the raw material for the plastics industry, the CCMBC views this decision as sensible and fact-based. Swift commented that “The issue with plastic has never been that it should be eliminated, but rather that it should be properly recycled. The plastics industry has for years made many solid recommendations as to how that can be achieved.” The court agreed that plastics are ubiquitous in our daily lives. Plastic products are also irreplaceable in many essential areas such as health care, food packaging and industrial products. In many cases, plastics also are positive for the environment, such as when they replace heavier materials in the auto sector, enhancing the fuel efficiency of automobiles.

This is the second time in the past month that Guilbeault has been rebuked by Canadian courts. In mid-October, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the federal Impact Assessment Act (also known as the “no more pipelines” bill) was unconstitutional. These decisions could also be precedent-setting for future legal actions against federal legislation, such as the Clean Electricity

Regulations that are now under consideration and are widely considered to be unconstitutional as they impinge on provincial jurisdiction over the electricity system.

Swift concluded “This federal government has made a habit of intruding on provincial jurisdiction. Now that two court decisions have ruled against them on important issues, they will hopefully take more care in future to respect the Constitution and make realistic decisions that benefit Canadians, not punish them.”

The CCMBC was formed in 2016 with a mandate to advocate for proactive and innovative policies that are conducive to manufacturing and business retention and safeguarding job growth in Canada.

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Salary costs in Prime Minister’s Office increase under Trudeau

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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

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Parks Canada right to back down from deer-cull boondoggle

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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.”

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