Gordon Lightfoot once wrote, “the more we learn, the worse we get.”
We tend to agree with that statement after stumbling onto the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s annual government waste awards. They are far from the Oscars, but disturbingly notable, almost to the point of losing sleep over.
Federation (CTF) director Gregory Thomas said discovering what greedy politicians are doing is enough to bring one to tears.
So brace yourself, and make sure to have some Kleenex handy . . . or a punching bag.
And the federal “Teddy” award goes to Chief Roger Redman of the Standing Buffalo First Nation. According to the CTF, Redman took home more after-tax income than the prime minister. When band members tried to impeach him, he reportedly padlocked the office and confiscated the chequebook.
The provincial “Teddy” award goes to former Alberta tourism minister Christine Cusanelli. The province cancelled a massive political junket to the London Olympics, leaving $113,000 worth of empty hotel rooms. According to the CTF, Cusanelli thought she was helping the government by taking her mother and daughter to the Olympics, billing the trip to the taxpayers. She did pay it back.
The Toronto Maintenance and Skilled Trade Council won the local Teddy award. The council billed the school district $143 to attach a pencil sharpener to a desk with four screws, and $3,000 to install an electrical outlet in a school library.
When questioned about these charges, union boss Jimmy Hazel told a Toronto Star reporter, “We don’t need to f—ing prove anything to anybody about costs.”
He later downplayed the charges by saying they were clerical errors and much of the money was refunded.
And the lifetime achievement Teddy goes to former Harper cabinet minister Bev Oda. She reportedly had taxpayers pay for chauffeured limousine service, two luxury hotels in London (on the same night), $16 glasses of orange juice, and an air purifier so she could smoke in her office.
Other Teddy nominees:
–    Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada paid $826,000 to a private company to develop sausages that don’t explode when you cook them
–    $106 million for the Canadian Senate, an unelected group of politicians who refuse to disclose details of their public expenses
–    Two former New Brunswick MLAs dragged taxpayers before the province’s human rights tribunal seeking protection for their gold-plated pensions.