Federal departments and agencies are spending an average of $76,000 a month renting artwork for bureaucratic offices, even though taxpayers have already footed the bill to purchase the pieces, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).Between January 2016 and July 2024, federal bureaucrats spent $7.8 million renting artwork from the Canada Council for the Arts’ (CCA) Art Bank. The Art Bank, which boasts a collection of over 17,000 works from more than 3,000 Canadian artists, is intended to showcase contemporary art while generating rental income from government and corporate clients.“This is an outrageous waste of money and, to add insult to injury, the government is double billing taxpayers for artwork we’ll never see,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s Federal Director.The most expensive single rental occurred in April 2020, when an unnamed federal department or agency expensed $120,240 for artwork. The CTF’s access-to-information request did not specify which departments were responsible for the rentals.Critics argue that the expense is tone-deaf during a time of economic hardship. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian worker earned less than $70,000 last year. Meanwhile, Food Banks Canada reported a record high of two million food bank visits in March 2024.“Every month, federal bureaucrats spend more renting art than the average Canadian earns in an entire year,” said Terrazzano. “When record numbers of Canadians are lining up at food banks, it’s appalling that bureaucrats are splurging on artwork rentals.”The CCA, a federal Crown corporation, received $423 million in government funding in 2022-23, accounting for 90% of its revenue. This means taxpayers initially fund the Art Bank’s acquisitions and then pay again when federal agencies rent the pieces.In addition to art rentals, the CCA also distributes over $300 million annually in grants to artists and arts organizations.With the federal government more than $1 trillion in debt, Terrazzano is calling for cost-cutting measures, including defunding the Canada Council for the Arts. He also pointed to the government’s promise in Budget 2023 to achieve $1.3 billion in spending reductions at Crown corporations over four years.“Bureaucrats billing taxpayers $76,000 a month in art rentals is outrageous at the best of times, but with so many Canadians struggling, it’s utterly inexcusable,” he said.Art rentals are not exclusive to federal departments. In 2023, the CTF revealed that 52 Canadian senators had expensed $514,616 in art rentals since 2016, further highlighting the widespread practice.Taxpayers and advocacy groups are urging the government to rein in unnecessary expenditures and prioritize essential services over luxuries like office artwork.
