Taxpayers want to be optimistic as Treasury Board President Anita Anand ministers to find $15 billion in savings. Only one problem: saving money means something different in Ottawa than in the rest of Canada.
“The budget … includes that $15 billion of savings so we could fund the programs outlined in the budget,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland . “It is not new savings.”
In other words, the savings will be spent – and then some.
shows spending was $470 billion in 2022. By 2027, Ottawa plans to spend almost $556 billion. When you increase spending by $85 billion, you’re saving money wrong.
The Trudeau government was spending before the pandemic, even after accounting for inflation and population differences. The then projected spending this year at $402 billion. The Trudeau government now plans to spend $491 billion this year.
After years of embarking on a debt-fueled spending binge, real cuts are needed. Here’s a blueprint for any politician serious about cutting spending:
The place to start is at the top. That means ending automatic pay raises for members of Parliament, like the feds did .
MPs took since the beginning of 2020, ranging from an extra $15,700 for a backbencher to an extra $31,400 for the prime minister. After taking a pay bump during the pandemic, the governor general should also be content with her $351,600 salary for a while.
The cost to run the Senate has soared since Justin Trudeau became prime minister.
The feds must also cut extravagant travel expenses. That means no more spending on luxury hotel suites, no more spending on “icelimos” or spending to attend a four-day German book fair.
These savings won’t balance the budget on their own. But they would give leaders the moral authority needed to cut spending within the bureaucracy. And that’s important because the bureaucracy consumes half of the government’s day-to-day spending.
Spending on the bureaucracy increased by over the past two years, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Trudeau hired an extra employees since taking power – a roughly 40 per cent increase.
The feds dished out in bonuses since 2015, despite the “less than 50 per cent of (performance) targets are consistently met.” Add pay raises over the last three years, and it’s easy to see how costs balloon.
The Bank of Canada rubberstamped in bonuses last year, despite failing to keep inflation around its two per cent target. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation handed out in bonuses since the beginning of 2020, despite Canadians struggling to afford homes.
A simple way to save money would be to take a tip from and “cancel bonuses for failing government authorities.”
The feds should cancel corporate welfare, like the for multinational automakers Volkswagen and Stellantis. There’s also lesser known subsidies the feds announced: for Algoma Steel, for Transat, for the Ford Motor Company, for Toyota, for Honda, for Bombardier and for Loblaws.
Bigger savings can be found by asking bigger questions.
Are taxpayers in some province going to subsidize other provincial politicians through equalization for the rest of Canada’s existence?
Why do the feds need to own a train that every year?
Why do Canadians pay more than $1.2 billion annually for a state broadcaster that’s losing relevance, but still competing directly with other media?
Why does the loser of an election get a taxpayer-funded mansion for an official residence?
Will this government find $15 billion in savings? Its track record suggests it won’t. But given the bloat in Ottawa, cutting $15 billion should only be the start.
— Franco Terrazzano is the Federal Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
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