Feds dish out $198 million in bonuses in 2022 – so far

Feds dish out $198 million in bonuses in 2022 – so farRecords indicate that figure may rise as the numbers are finalized So far, the Trudeau government doled out $198 million in bonuses in 2022, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through an access-to-information request. The average bonus for government executives was $17,885 in 2022. That brings the total amount of bonuses handed…

MPs take pay raise same day they take more from taxpayers

MPs take pay raise same day they take more from taxpayersPoliticians don’t deserve pay raises while making life unaffordable for Canadians In just over two weeks, members of Parliament will take more money out of your wallet and stuff more into their own. On April 1, the federal government is increasing carbon and alcohol taxes while MPs take their fourth pay raise since the onset…

Bureaucracy may be necessary, but it is never harmless

There is nothing that bureaucracy cannot make worse

Bureaucracy may be necessary, but it is never harmlessBureaucracy begats bureaucracy, building its own demand and transforming people into managers designed to meet bureaucratic needs. A bureaucracy designed to serve patients ends up serving its creators instead and protects those who work inside. Economist William Niskanen offered a definition of bureaucracies in his book Bureaucracy and Representative Government. Roughly speaking, he says, 1)…

The public/private compensation gap is soaring in Canada

Governments must begin to stand up to public sector union demands

The public/private compensation gap is soaring in CanadaDo you believe the pandemic’s impact is in the rearview mirror? Well, it isn’t, at least not for a great many small businesses forced to shutter their premises due to “safety concerns” even as their regular customers packed into COVID-spreading lines to enter big box stores governments deemed “essential services.” Behind those small businesses are…

Growth in federal employment is unsustainable

The only options left for Canadians are a tax revolt, voting out the government, or a job working for the feds

Growth in federal employment is unsustainableWhy work for yourself when taxpayers can pay you instead? In the past seven years, more Manitobans than ever have chosen the job security and benefits of federal employment, while the self-employed have begun to vanish. Statistics Canada snapshots show the most stunning growth of total salaries in one category of worker: federal government public…

Alberta public sector pampered, while taxpayers suffer

So much for being in this together

Alberta public sector pampered, while taxpayers sufferAlbertans are enduring a tale of two downturns during COVID-19. There’s the very real downturn full of private-sector pain. Then there’s the experience of government employees who have largely been shielded from the downturn. Over the last year, 76,600 private-sector jobs vanished in Alberta, while 5,600 government jobs were added. Since the beginning of 2015,…

Ballooning sunshine list a slap in the face to taxpayers

A 10% pay cut for all sunshine listers would save beleaguered taxpayers more than $2.5B

Ballooning sunshine list a slap in the face to taxpayersWhile most Ontarians were barely getting by during lockdowns, the bill for Ontario top bureaucrats ballooned in 2020. There are still 800,000 Ontarians looking for a job. So, it must be jarring for them to see Ontario’s sunshine list, which discloses the municipal and provincial government employees making more than $100,000 per year, increased by…

No such thing as a downturn if you work in government

A growing class divide between those who receive a government paycheque and those who pay it

No such thing as a downturn if you work in governmentLast year was a surprisingly good year financially for Alberta bureaucrats, unless you were one of the unlucky rubes who doesn’t work for the government. Even though the private sector was shedding jobs by the thousands, many Alberta bureaucrats received pay raises during lockdowns, courtesy of Mr. and Ms. Taxpayer. If that doesn’t seem fair…

Failure to use rapid tests in pandemic points to deeper problems

We still have time to act by approving and quickly producing rapid tests in Canada by the tens of millions

Failure to use rapid tests in pandemic points to deeper problemsBy John Adams and Kashif Pirzada Macdonald-Laurier Institute Canada’s ongoing failure to effectively control the spread of COVID-19 reflects increasing failures by governments to coordinate with one another and to respond quickly and effectively to new developments and scientific advances. This is abundantly clear in the self-harm inflicted by our original difficulties in sourcing of…

The Alberta government is not taking too little from taxpayers

It’s time for Alberta’s politicians to start living within taxpayers’ means.

The Alberta government is not taking too little from taxpayersAlbertans have many legitimate beefs with their governments. They have municipal employees having pension parties on their dime. They have a federal government that is getting ready to hammer us with its second carbon tax. And they “have the most inefficient provincial government in Canada by a country mile,” to quote Premier Jason Kenney. But…
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