Pizza cutters and webcam covers. Credit card sleeves and survival knives. Bookmarks and ballpoint pens. Toiletry bags and license plate frames. Polo shirts and gender-neutral quilted vests..It seems like there is no product that the government will not put their logo on or decorate with the motto of a government-owned company and they are willing to pay any price for that privilege..“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 Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). .“This is what happens when you have too many bureaucrats with too much money and time on their hands.”.Conservative MP John Brassard (Barrie-Innisfil, ON) asked for records of all branded or promotional products purchased by the feds, broken down by department or Crown corporation, from Jan. 1, 2021, to May 2, 2023. .The CTF looked through the 445-page release package and looked for frivolous spending..The Business Development Bank of Canada spent $17,600 to buy golf balls with its logo. .Invest in Canada spent $12,500 to buy candles that were custom-made for them..Farm Credit Canada spent $10,600 to purchase air fresheners with their logo..All the different agencies spent almost $200,000 on reusable bags. Farm Credit Canada alone spent around $4,500 on tote bags every month..The Windsor-Detroit Bridge spent $990 to buy “branded candy” with its logo, while the Jacques Cartier Bridge spent $9,700 on custom polo shirts. .The document did not explain why bridges should promote themselves to the public..The Canada Development Investment Corporation paid $18,000 for knitted wool socks and the Business Development Bank of Canada spent $3,700 on branded mints..Destination Canada spent $13,300 to buy candles and $9,000 for charcuterie boards. In one department, $1,422 was spent on Rubik's cubes. In another department, $1,797 was spent on fancy pocketknives and $812 was spent on pizza cutters..The department of Justice spent $3,300 on stress balls and Export Development Canada bought a climate change trivia card game for $4,100..“Is the federal government spending all this money on branding because it’s worried taxpayers don’t know it exists?” said Terrazzano. .“Or is there another gang in town trying to take our taxes that the feds think they need to out advertise?” .During the seven weeks to respond to the order paper question, only one agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, calculated its promotional expenses..The fisheries department spent $916,577 to buy branded merchandise, which is about $32,000 per month on average..However, the fisheries department could not give any specific information about where the money was being spent, what items were being purchased, or what benefits the taxpayers received from these purchases..Parks Canada also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they did not keep track of which companies they bought things from or why they needed to buy them..Parks Canada was also not transparent about other things..CBC/Radio-Canada, the RCMP, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Global Affairs all said they either did not keep track of promotional purchases or did not have enough time to find that information..The Canadian Security Intelligence Services admitted to buying promotional items, but they did not say what they bought..Canada's Museum of Science and Innovation, Telefilm Canada, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Canada Lands Company also refused to provide details about what they bought and how much they spent. They said it was sensitive information related to third parties..“I’m no expert in espionage, but maybe we shouldn’t be sending spies out into the field with branded CSIS merch,” said Terrazzano..“Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should tell these bureaucrats to knock it off with the card games, charcuterie boards and pizza cutters.”
