Did you know the Saskatchewan government spent $28,750 on celebrations for Quebec City's birthday and over $2,200 on hot sauce? The two bills were recently discovered by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) and are just a couple examples of how promotional and sponsorship expenditures have gotten out of control.
One has to remember that many government services operate as monopolies, so they don't have to build brand awareness and compete for business the same way private enterprises do.
For example, like it or not, most businesses in Saskatchewan have no choice but to buy coverage for their employees through the Workers Compensation Board (WCB). Yet that hasn't stopped the Crown corporation from spending $193,972 on promotional items since 2008.
And we're not just talking about cheap pens to promote a program. Consider some of its more eyebrow raising expenditures.
According to documents obtained by the CTF, the WCB spent over $3,600 on golf balls, $10,785 on lip balm, $4,369 on "Sugar free gum Spearmint," $2,400 on watches and $2,870 on Roughrider jerseys.
The WCB was not the only one handing out large volumes of promo gear. In 2009 alone, SaskPower spent $401,101, SGI spent $69,985 and the Ministry of Health racked up $61,739 on swag. In total, government bodies spent about $1.5 million on giveaway items.
Magnetic rocks, BBQ fork thermometers, moose hats, yoga pants, hot sauce, vests, fleece jackets, stress balls, desktop weather stations, briefcases, folding chairs, memory sticks and fishing rods were some of the other more questionable items.
Let's be clear, we're not suggesting the whole $1.5 million was a waste of money. Many public bodies did purchase reasonable items that were related to their respective mandates. For example, the Saskatchewan Pension Plan printed up some modest pens for a career show to attract employees.
It's the more expensive gifts that are particularly inappropriate as they aren't necessary and one can imagine where many of them often end up - in the hands of employees, their friends and as donations for pet projects of their choice.
On top of all the promotional items is about $5 million in annual sponsorships. Highlights from the past couple years include; $28,750 for Quebec City's birthday festivities, $75,000 for "NASCAR Racing", $22,000 for "BBQ/Grilling Championships", $1,000 for the Chinese Economists Society and $5,000 to commemorate a route taken by long horn cattle from Texas to Saskatchewan.
There were tons of charities and non-profits that also received donations from government bodies, but no doubt there were many worthy causes that didn't know they could pony up to the trough.
The answer is not for Crowns, agencies and ministries to try and fund every special interest group, but rather to stick to their respective mandates. By doing so, government bodies could, in turn, return more tax dollars to the public. After all, wouldn't it be better for people to decide for themselves which charities to support?
The $6.5 million spent on promotional items and sponsorships last year wasn't all a waste of money and it's not much in the grand scheme of things. However, just like every drop of hot sauce adds up, these unnecessary expenditures also contribute to the deficit. It's time for the government to hold off on the hot sauce.
Colin Craig
Prairie Director
