By John Williamson
OTTAWA: From June 2nd to September 4th, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) tracked 293 pre-election spending announcements totaling $8.8-billion made by Stephen Harper's Conservative government. That is roughly $94-million a day or about $3.9-million every hour. More spending is expected today and over the weekend in advance of Sunday's probable election call.
"Here we go again, another federal election and another big spending bender. Only this time it is coming from a political leader who in opposition loudly denounced the same misuse of tax dollars," said CTF federal director John Williamson. "Let's not forget that hardworking taxpayers are footing the bill for this pre-election spending. Wouldn't it be nice to have a government in Ottawa which was as frugal as families and as careful controlling costs as small businesses across this country?"
The 2008 budget set spending growth at 3.4 per cent this fiscal year. The department of finance reported last month that expenditures grew by 11.1 per cent in June alone and swelled an eye-popping 8.4 per cent in the first three months of the year. This is two-and-a-half times the 2008 budget plan.
"I wouldn't want to be a government bookkeeper when the waves of spending receipts from July and August crash into the finance department," said Mr. Williamson. "Of course, taxpayers will be even more distraught, and some livid, since they are responsible for paying the government's bills."
Big ticket items include $1.1-billion for the "roadmap for linguistic duality" (announced June 19); $867-million to Nova Scotia as a result of a Royalty Agreement (July 13); $350-million to Bombardier (July 13); $100-million for public transit in Toronto (July 25); $300-million for tobacco farmers (Aug. 1); $80-million to Ford (Sept. 3); and $4-billion for Quebec infrastructure (Sept.3)
Some of the spending gems include $297,000 for a ski club in Newfoundland & Labrador (July 17); $500,000 for IMAX production Mysteries of the Great Lakes (July 20); $350,000 for COWS Inc., an ice cream company in Prince Edward Island (July 23); $2,000 for a festival in Shag Harbour, N.S., to commemorate a 1967 UFO sighting (Aug. 5); and $528,000 for facilities at New Brunswick's Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company (Sept. 4).
For a complete breakdown of all the expenditures:
"The Conservatives continue to claim they will still hit 3.4 per cent in spending growth for the year, but they've proven throughout their term in office that they can't stop themselves from spending," said CTF research director Adam Taylor. "Their first budget called for Ottawa's expenditures to grow by 5.4 per cent in fiscal 2006/07. At the end of that year government receipts had jumped by 7.5 per cent. The 2007 budget plan announced an additional 5.6 per cent spending hike. The real amount in 2007/08 was a 6.9 per cent increase."
