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Government departments spent $207,000 on hats, $607,000 on bags and $52,000 on socks since 2022
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OTTAWA — Hats and bags were in high demand among government bureaucrats, as federal departments spent nearly $1 million on just those two pieces of highly-priced tat.
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In government documents uncovered via an enormous 900-page response to an order paper question filed by Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, Canada’s bureaucracy spent over $13 million on branded merchandise since 2022 — consisting of all manner of promotional tchotchkes, including socks, pricey Yeti and Stanley tumblers, air fresheners and pens.
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“It’s like the government had a contest to see which department could come up with the dumbest way to spend taxpayers’ money and they all won,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who uncovered the documents.
“This is what happens when you have too many bureaucrats with too many tax dollars.”
RCMP biggest spender, but refused to disclose details
Across all departments, $207,000 was spent on hats, $607,000 on bags and $52,000 on socks.
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The biggest spender was the RCMP, with the federal police service spending over $4 million on merchandise — but claimed no records existed detailing what was spent on what.
Canadian Heritage was the second-biggest spender on promotional trinkets, spending more than $2 million.
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That number included spending $1.7 million on three-foot by six-foot Canadian flags, $143,000 on Canadian flag lapel pins, $14,000 on Canadian flags for desks and $16,000 for pins and cards with words of encouragement for Canadian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
CBC-Radio Canada also declined to provide details on what they spent on branded kickshaws.
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Mint spends a mint on leather notepads
The Department of National Defence spent $1.4 million on promotional knickknacks, while Farm Credit Canada spent $871,000 — including $32,600 on tractor-shaped air fresheners.
Trendy Yeti and Stanley drinkware were also hot items, with $40,000 spent on the tumblers.
Public Safety Canada alone spent nearly $16,000 on branded YETI water bottles for their Young Women in Public Safety program, an initiative that also saw the department spend $5,715 on Whitney water bottles, $1,205 on T-shirts, $804 on wine tumblers.
Natural Resources Canada spent $256,061 on promotional items, including $7,000 for environmentally-friendly notebooks, and $8,000 on Geological Survey of Canada notebooks.
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Nearly $42,000 was spent by the Royal Canadian Mint on leather journals with laser-engraved pens, while VIA Rail spent $262,000 on merch — including $5,000 on air fresheners promoting the national railway’s new rolling stock.
Questionable spending not isolated
Thousands more were spent across all departments on temporary tattoos, sunglasses, branded charcuterie boards and coffee mugs.
“Government bureaucrats dropping thousands of dollars on stress balls really stresses taxpayers out,” Terrazzano said.
“Unless the temporary tattoos show the national debt to remind bureaucrats to cut spending, it’s a waste of money.”
This isn’t the only instance of questionable government spending.
Last year, Canadian bureaucrats spent nearly $8 million renting art from the government-run federal art bank, while the Trudeau Liberals shelled out nearly $2 million to produce government podcasts that few Canadians bothered listening to — including $155,736 by Canadian Heritage to produce seven episodes of a podcast on the care and conservation of cultural artifacts.
bpassifiume@postmedia.comX: @bryanpassifiume
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