The department of Global Affairs spent $41,161 on luxury custom furniture for diplomatic offices abroad, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF.).“Even a pandemic couldn’t stop these bureaucrats from wasting money on fancy furniture,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF..“The pandemic should have been a time to tighten their belts, not burn through money on fancy office furniture.”.The department spent a total of $41,161 on the custom office furniture between March 26 and Sept. 21, 2020. The furniture was produced by Ottawa-based furniture maker Christopher Solar Design, and shipped to Canadian diplomatic offices around the world. .The orders included $4,300 for a sign-in table at the Canadian high commissioner’s residence in Nairobi, Kenya, $3,720 for four custom-made lamps and $10,171 for six floor screens in the Canadian ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, Japan, and $7,900 for a credenza and coffee table for the trade commissioner’s office in São Paulo, Brazil. .Global Affairs also billed taxpayers $6,150 for a custom-made cabinet in the high commissioner’s office in Auckland, New Zealand, and $8,920 on 13 custom lamps..The CTF pointed out that buying the furniture at IKEA could have led to huge savings for taxpayers. If staff had shopped at the Swedish furniture store, they could have spent just $1,000 on all floor screens, $122 on the coffee table, and $259 all the lamps..“Global Affairs spent more on a few lamps than many Canadians spend on their car,” said Terrazzano..“Bureaucrats at Global Affairs continue to prove they have too much money on their hands. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland should trim the department’s budget if these bureaucrats think wasting tens of thousands of dollars on fancy office furniture during a pandemic is a good idea.”
