It’s natural to gain a little weight over the holidays. But the federal bureaucracy has been stuffing its face with your tax dollars for years.
We released a NEW report proving the bureaucracy needs a diet plan, a treadmill and a Rocky Balboa-like training regimen.
Plus, nearly half of federal departments increased their travel spending one year after the government promised to cut those costs.
Maybe I’m a little old school, but when the boss says, “Hey don’t blow your travel budget,” you probably shouldn’t blow your travel budget.
All that and more in this week’s Taxpayer Waste Watch. Enjoy.
Franco
Half of federal departments ignore savings directive, increase travel spending
When the boss says the company needs to cut down travel expenses, but half the employees increase spending, the boss should be thinking about replacing half the staff.
Federal politicians promised you the government would cut down its travel expenses.
They even wrote that promise in their own budget.
The government will “reduce spending on consulting, other professional services and travel by roughly 15 per cent” over five years, Budget 2023 promised.
One year after promising to cut travel costs, nearly half of federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations ignored their own targets and actually increased spending.
A total of 53 out of 111 federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations increased spending between 2023 and 2024.
That means that nearly half of departments effectively ignored the government’s promise to cut travel spending.
The Copyright Board of Canada hiked its annual travel budget the most, increasing costs 120 per cent between 2023 and 2024.
The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority spent 73 percent more in 2024. Canada Council for the Arts spent 71 per cent more in 2024.
Worse still, few departments were able or willing to quantify actual savings, despite being asked for an explanation.
Global Affairs Canada, after increasing spending 42 per cent between 2023 and 2024, said the department is “not in a position to share spending reduction measures.”
Privy Council Office’s spending increased 17 per cent between 2023 and 2024. The PCO said it’s “working on reducing its discretionary travel expenditures,” but offered the excuse that “due to the nature of Privy Council Office’s work, overall travel increased in 2024-25.”
The government is spending an average of $1.1 billion per year on travel, hospitality and conferences.
That’s the total tax bill for 22,700 Canadian families.
After years of blowing YOUR money on extravagant trips and conferences, there is no reason why every government department can’t find big-time savings.
How much are you paying for Ottawa’s bureaucracy?
SPOILER: You’re paying way too much.
The federal bureaucracy cost taxpayers like you $71.4 billion last year.
It cost you $39.6 billion at the end of 2015.
That means you’re paying 80 per cent more for the federal bureaucracy now than you were just 10 years ago.
Are you getting 80 per cent better services? (Ha!)
Half of Canadian say services have gotten worse since 2016, despite the massive increase in the federal bureaucracy, according to a Leger poll.
It’s clear that adding more government bureaucrats doesn’t mean better outcomes for you.
So why did the cost of the bureaucracy spiral out of control?
The government added about 100,000 extra bureaucrats since 2016. The growth in the number of bureaucrats doubled the growth in Canada’s total employment.
And it’s not like there was a bureaucrat shortage in Ottawa before 2016…
The government also jacked up the pay for bureaucrats.
The government rubberstamped more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded bonuses since 2015.
The average pay for a full-time federal bureaucrat was $148,000 in 2023 when including salary, bonus, pension and all forms of compensation.
For comparison, the annual wage paid to the average Canadian worker in 2023 was less than $70,000.
Not only are you paying way more for in-house government bureaucrats, you’re also paying way more for outside help.
The federal government spent $23.1 billion on consultants, contractors and outsourcing last year. That spending has doubled over the last 10 years.
Franco’s note: As crazy as all these costs are, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of what you’re paying for when it comes to the federal bureaucracy.
You can read the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s new report on the out-of-control federal bureaucracy by clicking this link: https://www.taxpayer.com/media/ctf-report-federal-bureaucracy-2026.pdf
VIDEO: “This is INSANITY”: Taxes and red tape crushing Canada’s economy
Ottawa’s high taxes and regulations are crushing Canada’s economy.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation breaks down how the federal government is roadblocking Canada’s economy and what needs to be done to make Canada the freest and most prosperous country in the world.
You can watch (and share) the video by clicking the YouTube link below.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DQHwY-FYns&t
Taxpayer reading list
If you’re looking for more reading on taxpayer issues, we’ve got you covered.
Time for feds to give up on gun confiscation: https://www.westernstandard.news/opinion/haubrich-time-for-feds-to-give-up-on-gun-confiscation
Federal hidden carbon tax costs seven cents per litre of gas in 2026: https://www.taxpayer.com/newsroom/federal-hidden-carbon-tax-costs-seven-cents-per-litre-of-gas-in-2026
Attrition cuts won’t fix bloated bureaucracy: https://torontosun.com/opinion/editorials/attrition-cuts-wont-fix-bloated-bureaucracy