The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) uncovered through access-to-information records that in 2023, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) doled out more than $27 million in bonuses, bringing the total bonuses since the beginning of 2020 to $102 million.Federal Director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano, questioned the logic behind such hefty bonuses when housing affordability remains a pressing issue for Canadians. “If the CMHC’s number one goal is housing affordability, then it doesn’t make sense to hand out $100 million in bonuses during a housing affordability crisis,” said Terrazzano in a press release.Almost all of the CMHC's workforce, 98%, received a bonus in 2023, with 2,283 employees benefiting, costing taxpayers $27.2 million. On average, each bonus amounted to about $11,800.The CMHC’s 10 executives received $4.1 million in total compensation in 2023, including $3.1 million in salary (for an average of $311,000) and $831,000 in bonuses (for an average of $83,000) along with $211,000 in other benefits.In addition, CMHC gave pay raises to more than 2,000 employees, representing 89% of its workforce, with no one facing a pay cut. The number of CMHC bureaucrats earning six-figure annual salaries rose to 1,073, a 15% increase over 2022, totaling nearly half (46%) of its workforce and costing taxpayers $140 million in 2023.Terrazzano criticized this allocation of funds.“The CMHC could do more to end the housing affordability crisis by hiring a thousand carpenters, rather than paying a thousand bureaucratic pencil-pushers six-figure salaries,” he said.While the CMHC claims its primary objective is housing affordability, a survey by Ipsos and Global News in 2023 found 63% of non-homeowners had given up hope of owning a home, with nearly 70% believing homeownership was only attainable for the wealthy.In April 2024, the Royal Bank of Canada highlighted the challenge of affording a home, citing soaring interest costs as a significant barrier. According to the RBC, homeownership costs reached a new high in the fourth quarter of 2023, with households needing to allocate 62.5% of median income to cover the expenses of owning an average-priced home.The RBC report emphasized worsening affordability across all markets, particularly in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto, while Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax also faced near-record levels of unaffordability.In the 2023 Budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland aimed for spending reductions across federal Crown corporations, targeting an estimated $1.3 billion over four years. “The feds need to stop rewarding failure with bonuses,” said Terrazzano. “Freeland said she would find savings in Crown corporations and these bonuses should be the first thing on the chopping block.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) uncovered through access-to-information records that in 2023, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) doled out more than $27 million in bonuses, bringing the total bonuses since the beginning of 2020 to $102 million.Federal Director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano, questioned the logic behind such hefty bonuses when housing affordability remains a pressing issue for Canadians. “If the CMHC’s number one goal is housing affordability, then it doesn’t make sense to hand out $100 million in bonuses during a housing affordability crisis,” said Terrazzano in a press release.Almost all of the CMHC's workforce, 98%, received a bonus in 2023, with 2,283 employees benefiting, costing taxpayers $27.2 million. On average, each bonus amounted to about $11,800.The CMHC’s 10 executives received $4.1 million in total compensation in 2023, including $3.1 million in salary (for an average of $311,000) and $831,000 in bonuses (for an average of $83,000) along with $211,000 in other benefits.In addition, CMHC gave pay raises to more than 2,000 employees, representing 89% of its workforce, with no one facing a pay cut. The number of CMHC bureaucrats earning six-figure annual salaries rose to 1,073, a 15% increase over 2022, totaling nearly half (46%) of its workforce and costing taxpayers $140 million in 2023.Terrazzano criticized this allocation of funds.“The CMHC could do more to end the housing affordability crisis by hiring a thousand carpenters, rather than paying a thousand bureaucratic pencil-pushers six-figure salaries,” he said.While the CMHC claims its primary objective is housing affordability, a survey by Ipsos and Global News in 2023 found 63% of non-homeowners had given up hope of owning a home, with nearly 70% believing homeownership was only attainable for the wealthy.In April 2024, the Royal Bank of Canada highlighted the challenge of affording a home, citing soaring interest costs as a significant barrier. According to the RBC, homeownership costs reached a new high in the fourth quarter of 2023, with households needing to allocate 62.5% of median income to cover the expenses of owning an average-priced home.The RBC report emphasized worsening affordability across all markets, particularly in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto, while Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax also faced near-record levels of unaffordability.In the 2023 Budget, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland aimed for spending reductions across federal Crown corporations, targeting an estimated $1.3 billion over four years. “The feds need to stop rewarding failure with bonuses,” said Terrazzano. “Freeland said she would find savings in Crown corporations and these bonuses should be the first thing on the chopping block.”
