Over the years, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has come into contact with many conscientious civil servants that care deeply about how public funds are spent.
In fact, many have blown the whistle on government waste and have helped save taxpayers thousands of dollars. Let’s take a moment to acknowledge some of those fine men and women and dispel the stereotype that ‘civil servants are all overpaid and reckless with public funds.’
A couple years ago, a civil servant notified the CTF of a “
spa day” that took place at a government funded child and family services agency in Manitoba. The event was completely over the top – make-up lessons, tarot card readings, manicures and pedicures for staff - all on the public dime.
We agreed with the whistleblower’s suggestion that “spa day” was inappropriate and investigated the matter. We brought our findings to Family Services Minister Gord Mackintosh’s attention and to his credit, he banned such events in the future and required the agency to fundraise in order to repay the public funds that were wasted.
On another occasion, a civil servant tipped off the CTF that a different child care agency was handing out
cash bonuses, watches and other gifts to staff that weren’t based on any performance measures. The bonuses were handed out merely for showing up for work. Again, we brought it to the Minister’s attention and he ordered an end to the practice.
Another good tip came from someone in government who had heard about the Vital Statistics Branch letting all its employees take two hours of paid leave to go
Christmas shopping.
Emails sent out by staff noted that the department was “extremely behind,” but encouraged employees to take time off anyway. Incredibly, employees were then brought in on the weekend and paid overtime to catch up. Thankfully, future Christmas shopping leave courtesy of the taxpayer has been cancelled.
It was also a government employee who blew the whistle on the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority spending
$37,712 on a rooftop barbecue and patio furniture for its new executive offices on Main Street.
Another great example would be all the documents leaking out of
Manitoba Hydro on the new Bipole III hydro line project. No matter where you stand on the issue, you have to appreciate people on the inside risking their jobs to get important information out to the public.
The CTF also admires the many former Manitoba Hydro employees and retired University of Manitoba engineers that are passionately working on the issue and speaking out. Obviously they’re not being paid to do so; they’re active on the issue because they still care about the work they used to do on the public’s behalf.
Lastly, we would also like to give a big salute to those that work in band offices on reserves and
risk their jobs by leaking audit documents and other information out to the public.
Undoubtedly, there are bureaucrats who are either careless or simply irresponsible with tax dollars. But let’s not forget that there are plenty who are willing to risk a lot to ensure tax dollars receive the respect they deserve. As governments work towards getting their deficits under control, here’s hoping the latter outnumber the former.
Colin Craig is the Prairie Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
