Check It Out: How does the government love taxpayers? Let us count the ways

By Joan Janzen

My parody of the opening lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet reads, “How does the government love taxpayers? Let us count the ways.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has been counting the ways governments waste taxpayer dollars and has presented Teddy Waste Awards in the process.

Franco Terrazzano, CTF federal director, said, “This is the 28th year we’re doing it; making fun of politicians.”

He began an interview on Northern Perspective by reporting that Heritage Toronto spent $2,000 on a plaque for a raccoon that died 10 years ago in Toronto. It was an insignificant amount compared to the waste the CTF continued to uncover.

We’ve all seen posters for the FIFA World Cup soccer games, seven of which will be hosted in British Columbia. Carson Binda, B.C. director for the CTF, said politicians originally reported costs would be $230 million.

“Now they’re saying it will cost $730 million,” he reported on the CTF podcast. “That works out to $104 million for each of those soccer games.”

The cost also included murals painted on city streets, motorcades, road closures and police escorts for FIFA executives. Organizers also tore up a grassy field, replaced it with temporary artificial turf for the games and will replace it with new turf after the games are over. Binda said B.C.’s premier spent $350,000 on three fake soccer balls made of wood and leather as a public relations stunt.

It’s not surprising, then, that Binda noted British Columbia increased its debt this year by $30 billion. The debt load in B.C. increased from $16,000 per person in 2022 to $32,000 this year. In comparison, Saskatchewan’s total debt is projected to be $27 billion by the end of this year.

Franco continued by announcing some of the best examples of government waste.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council “funds research that government claims Canadians care about most,” he explained.

Are you ready for the list? Ready or not, here it comes.

The council spent $94,000 on a study about fat fashion photography and social justice selfies, $20,000 researching letters to a porn star, $8,000 studying gender identities in online Harry Potter fan communities, $17,000 studying the mating rituals of frat boys, $50,000 studying erotic video games, $20,000 studying Peruvian rock music and, last but not least, $100,000 studying the birth, life and death of the grocery cart.

The CTF also highlighted federal spending of $1.6 million to send 240 delegates to the United Nations climate conference in Brazil for three weeks. This included half a million dollars for accommodations and $650,000 for a Canadian pavilion.

A total of $310,000 was spent on outside contractors to create and manage the pavilion website and event programming, even though Environment Canada has staff who specialize in social media and web services.

Was it worth it? You be the judge. According to the CTF, 7,300 people visited the website.

Canada sent more delegates to the conference than any other G7 country, including the host country.

And we don’t want to forget the CBC, which spent $59,000 going to court to keep its subscriber numbers hidden while receiving more than $1 billion annually from taxpayers.

Member of Parliament Sandra Cobena recently confronted the federal government about the Prime Minister’s $195,000 food bill over the course of three flights. The response was that he brings back jobs, investment, opportunity, technology, expertise, military benefits and industrial benefits when he travels.

Cobena replied, “He is saying that $195,000 for steak and fine wine is necessary for the PM to do his job.”

However, plans continue for future spending sprees.

How about Ottawa’s plan for a high-speed rail line with seven stops between Toronto and Quebec City at a cost of $90 billion, to be completed by 2043?

Although it will create 51,000 jobs during construction, each job will cost about $1.7 million. According to McGill University, the project will only become profitable after 44 years of operation and $53 billion in subsidies.

Franco said, “You pay too much tax because these politicians are wasting too much money. Either they don’t know or don’t care about how hard people work for the money they earn and the taxes they pay.”

A more appropriate parody of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet might read, “How does our government love wasting taxpayer dollars? Let us count the ways.”

Fortunately, the CTF is counting and holding governments accountable for their actions.