The Canadian government doled out $1.6 billion in overtime pay from 2019 to 2021, while meeting less than half its performance objectives and hiring more than 15,000 employees each year, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). .“When you spend extra money on overtime and hiring more employees, you expect top results,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano in a Thursday press release. .“The federal government is spending buckets of cash on overtime pay and more bureaucrats and it still can’t meet half its performance targets.”.The Canadian government spent more than $1.1 billion on overtime pay between 2020 and 2021. Statistics Canada said about 56% of government workers did their jobs from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. .Fisheries and Oceans Canada accounted for $97.8 million in overtime pay during the pandemic. Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada employees took $76.4 million in overtime pay in 2020 and 2021. .House of Commons and Senate employees received more than $13 million in overtime pay during the pandemic, despite those houses moving to a hybrid format. Elections Canada gave employees $1.4 million in overtime pay in 2020, which was a non-election year. .Government databases said federal bureaucrats met 49% of their performance targets in 2019-2020. These databases said 46% of performance targets were achieved in 2020-2021. .All of this spending happened while the federal bureaucracy increased by more than 15,000 employees per year on average between 2019 and 2021. .“If the government is spending so much money on overtime and hiring more bureaucrats, then why can’t it meet half of its own performance targets?” asked Terrazzano. .“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to take air out of the ballooning bureaucracy.”.The CTF released a report in January showing 528,347 federal and provincial government employees had a pay raise during the pandemic..Not a single government within Canada lowered staff wages..“We’re not all in this together,” said Terrazzano.
The Canadian government doled out $1.6 billion in overtime pay from 2019 to 2021, while meeting less than half its performance objectives and hiring more than 15,000 employees each year, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). .“When you spend extra money on overtime and hiring more employees, you expect top results,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano in a Thursday press release. .“The federal government is spending buckets of cash on overtime pay and more bureaucrats and it still can’t meet half its performance targets.”.The Canadian government spent more than $1.1 billion on overtime pay between 2020 and 2021. Statistics Canada said about 56% of government workers did their jobs from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. .Fisheries and Oceans Canada accounted for $97.8 million in overtime pay during the pandemic. Health Canada and Public Health Agency of Canada employees took $76.4 million in overtime pay in 2020 and 2021. .House of Commons and Senate employees received more than $13 million in overtime pay during the pandemic, despite those houses moving to a hybrid format. Elections Canada gave employees $1.4 million in overtime pay in 2020, which was a non-election year. .Government databases said federal bureaucrats met 49% of their performance targets in 2019-2020. These databases said 46% of performance targets were achieved in 2020-2021. .All of this spending happened while the federal bureaucracy increased by more than 15,000 employees per year on average between 2019 and 2021. .“If the government is spending so much money on overtime and hiring more bureaucrats, then why can’t it meet half of its own performance targets?” asked Terrazzano. .“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to take air out of the ballooning bureaucracy.”.The CTF released a report in January showing 528,347 federal and provincial government employees had a pay raise during the pandemic..Not a single government within Canada lowered staff wages..“We’re not all in this together,” said Terrazzano.
