According to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the Trudeau government has approved over one million pay raises for federal bureaucrats since 2020. This includes 319,067 raises in 2023 alone, bringing the total to 1,121,110 since the beginning of 2020.The cost of these raises to taxpayers is unknown, as the government has refused to disclose this information. However, the federal payroll hit a record high of $67 billion last year, a 68% increase since 2016. The size of the bureaucracy has also grown by 40% since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office, with over 98,000 new employees added to the federal payroll.Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director, criticized the government for handing out raises while taxpayers struggle to make ends meet. "Taxpayers deserve to know how much all these raises are costing us," he said. "It's wrong for the government to hand out a million raises while taxpayers lost their jobs or struggled to afford ground beef and rent."The average compensation for full-time federal employees is $125,300, including pay, pension, paid time off, shift premiums, and other benefits. This is significantly higher than the average annual salary of $70,000 for all Canadian full-time workers in 2023.The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest union representing federal bureaucrats, is currently fighting against a government order to return to the office three days per week. Alex Silas, PSAC's regional executive vice-president, said bureaucrats are "infuriated" by the request. However, Terrazzano noted that taxpayers have "zero sympathy" for overpaid bureaucrats resisting a return to in-person work.
According to access-to-information records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), the Trudeau government has approved over one million pay raises for federal bureaucrats since 2020. This includes 319,067 raises in 2023 alone, bringing the total to 1,121,110 since the beginning of 2020.The cost of these raises to taxpayers is unknown, as the government has refused to disclose this information. However, the federal payroll hit a record high of $67 billion last year, a 68% increase since 2016. The size of the bureaucracy has also grown by 40% since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office, with over 98,000 new employees added to the federal payroll.Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director, criticized the government for handing out raises while taxpayers struggle to make ends meet. "Taxpayers deserve to know how much all these raises are costing us," he said. "It's wrong for the government to hand out a million raises while taxpayers lost their jobs or struggled to afford ground beef and rent."The average compensation for full-time federal employees is $125,300, including pay, pension, paid time off, shift premiums, and other benefits. This is significantly higher than the average annual salary of $70,000 for all Canadian full-time workers in 2023.The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the largest union representing federal bureaucrats, is currently fighting against a government order to return to the office three days per week. Alex Silas, PSAC's regional executive vice-president, said bureaucrats are "infuriated" by the request. However, Terrazzano noted that taxpayers have "zero sympathy" for overpaid bureaucrats resisting a return to in-person work.
