In case you missed it – here’s where some of your money goes
The federal government and each of the provinces and territories have provided us with their spending proposals for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. For us in Quebec, the CAQ has committed to spend $15,769 per person; the feds have committed to spend $11,476 per
person. In return for spending $27,245 on each of us, we can expect to get back something through the programs they’ve decided we either need or want. Programs
like healthcare, social services, education. Indeed, in Quebec, more than half the expected spending is to deliver healthcare, social services and education. The next biggest item in the spending array is paying interest on the debt they’ve accumulated
because they’re spending more than they’re taking in -- $9 billion more.
It is comforting to know that if you are seriously ill and make it into the healthcare system, the treatment you get is first-rate and will not bankrupt you financially. The service we get for regular, routine care throughout the year is less than satisfactory. The service we get for preventative care is even less so.
Social service programs deal with specific issues: Support for independent seniors; support for people with physical disabilities, impairments related to hearing, vision, language, speech and motor activities; Intellectual impairments and autism spectrum disorder; youth with difficulties; support for people with alcoholism, drug addiction and compulsive gambling; support for people with mental health issues. The commentary from associations and families looking for support in these areas leaves much to be desired.
As for education, from elementary through secondary to vocational,
CEGEP and university, is the system doing enough to provide Quebecers with the attitudes and skills they need to earn a reasonable living throughout their lives? I’m not sure, and it’s difficult to get a handle on it with low unemployment rates throughout most of the province. Teachers say they need more support.
I confess to wanting more of what we need and less of what politicians want to bribe us with. With that in mind, I refer you to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) -- a notfor-profit advocacy group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government. Celebrating their 25th year of the best of the worst of government waste, the CTF handed out their Golden Pigs recently. Here’s a verbatim description of a few of them:
Société de l’assurance Automobile du Québec (Winner)
Nominated for: Launching an online software to reduce the number of bureaucrats, then hiring an extra 150 bureaucrats to fix the mess the app created.
Cost: $458 million
Quebec is the only province that forces drivers to renew their license every year. Why?
2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: The Canada Revenue Agency
Nominated for: Giving pandemic subsidies to ineligible businesses, people in jail, teenagers and dead people.
Cost: Potentially more than $32 billion
The Canada Revenue Agency gave the CERB to: 190,254 people who quit their job instead of losing it due to the pandemic; 692 people who received a duplicate payment benefit; 1,522 people who were in jail; 704 people who did not live in Canada; 434 people under the age of 15; and 391 dead people.
Governor General Mary Simon
(Winner)
Nominated for: Racking up a nearly six-figure tab on fancy airplane food during a week-long trip to the Middle East.
Cost: $99,362
Simon told Canadians the “meals are not very extravagant on these trips” and “they’re pretty much like airline meals.” The flight menus included “beef Wellington with red jus” and “pan fried chicken scallopini in creamy mushroom wine reduction sauce and VIP sliced fruit”. The entire trip, including food, transportation and accommodation, cost taxpayers $1.3 million.
It is comforting to know that if you are seriously ill and make it into the healthcare system, the treatment you get is firstrate and will not bankrupt
you financially.
The Canada Border Services
Agency (Nominee)
Nominated for: Spending $54 million on the Arrivecan app when tech experts estimated the development costs around $250,000. Cost: $54 million
A couple of independent techies spent a weekend recreating the app. They were done before dinner on Sunday at a cost of about $250,000.
Volkswagen (Nominee)
Nominated for: Taking $13 billion from taxpayers to build a $7-billion factory.
Cost: $13 billion
Frankly, I don’t blame Volkswagen for taking the offer – the question is, why was it offered? The government says 3,000 jobs will be created. That means each job will cost taxpayers
I confess to wanting more of what we need and less of what politicians want
to bribe us with. With that in mind, I refer you to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) -- a notfor-profit advocacy group dedicated to lower taxes,
less waste and accountable government.
more than $4 million. They could have as easily given 12,000 people a million dollars each.
You can join the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for no fee just to get issue and action updates. It’s an outrageous, fun website https://www. taxpayer.com/. Lots of short stories about your tax dollars, petitions to sign, campaigns about specific legislation. It will keep you up to date on waste-related horror and success stories.