Taxpayers have footed more than $1 billion in federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs since 2016, newly-released records show. Blacklock's Reorter says spending ranged from agriculture subsidies for “cultural vegetables” to grants honouring Congolese veterans.Figures released in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons detailed $1.049 billion in payouts tied to diversity, equity and inclusion. The information was provided after Conservative MP Vincent Ho (Richmond Hill South, Ont.) pressed cabinet to disclose all such grants since 2016.Prairies Economic Development Canada reported $190.1 million in spending but admitted it couldn’t say how much of that actually focused on diversity, equity or inclusion. .Officials said projects were included if those words appeared anywhere in their descriptions.In total, 29 federal agencies and departments reported diversity-related spending, from the Canadian Space Agency to the Laurentian Pilotage Authority.One of the largest single payouts was $25 million from the Department of Industry to the Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to “strengthen Canada’s entrepreneurship ecosystem” for LGBTQ-owned small businesses. Another $420,000 went to the African Centre for Technology Studies, though officials admitted it was “not yet possible” to say what the money accomplished..The Department of Agriculture issued a $90,649 grant for the “harvesting, processing and storage of cultural vegetables” in London, Ont., while Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions paid $40,000 to promote Montréal’s Caribbean culture. Veterans Affairs awarded $5,000 to the Congolese Community of Ottawa to recognize Congolese-Canadian veterans, and National Defence gave $50,000 to Trent University for a conference on “gender dimensions of security” in the Arctic.The Canadian Race Relations Foundation funded a $30,000 diversity survey of newsrooms through the Canadian Association of Journalists. Public Safety put $490,911 toward a youth immigrant camp in Charlottetown that included cooking lessons with “culturally relevant recipes.”On top of grant spending, departments disclosed an additional $1.1 million last year for in-house diversity and inclusion training.
