A Treasury Board briefing note is defending the federal government's decision to pay nearly $146.3 million in bonuses to senior executives last year, arguing the performance awards are justified even as Ottawa urges Canadians to prepare for tighter government spending.The March 20 memo, prepared for Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, says performance pay remains an essential part of executive compensation and should continue during periods of fiscal restraint."Performance pay is a common component of executive compensation in private and public sector organizations," the memo states.Blacklock's Reporter said it also rejects suggestions that bonuses should be suspended while the government seeks savings."Performance pay is a longstanding component of executive compensation designed to support accountability and results," the memo says.The document acknowledges that about 98% of the federal government's 7,987 executives who were not on leave received performance bonuses during the 2024-25 fiscal year.On average, executives received bonuses worth 10.7% of their salaries, or approximately $18,316 each.Treasury Board argues those bonuses are modest compared with compensation elsewhere."On average, executives in the core public administration received performance pay equal to 10.7% of their salary, well below the 19.7% average received by executives in other Canadian public and private sector organizations," the memo states, although it does not identify the source of that comparison..The bonuses were paid while the Liberal government continued to promote spending restraint.Last September, Prime Minister Mark Carney told Liberal MPs that "these are tough times" and pledged to reduce government costs."We have to make tough choices for a better future," Carney said.He also argued that reducing unnecessary government spending would help preserve social programs but did not specify where cuts would be made.Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced on March 20 that the government had identified $60 billion in savings through a comprehensive expenditure review.However, the budget documents did not specify where those savings would come from."Canadian families are tightening their belt. I think it's about time the federal government does the same," Champagne told reporters.He described the spending review as part of the government's broader plan to reduce expenditures while redirecting resources toward priority areas."We said we were going to spend less so we can spend more," Champagne said. "We found $60 billion of savings across different departments of the Government of Canada."The Treasury Board memo maintains that executive bonuses are earned through individual performance assessments and are not automatic, despite the overwhelming majority of eligible executives receiving the payments.
