Your Rotten Government and You

The Americans might have their house in order but we don't:

A one-day purchase of more than $523,000 worth of furniture by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly’s department last March 31 had nothing to do with the end of the budget year, staff claim in a briefing note. Federal managers have long denied “March Madness,” the hurried squandering of unspent funds in the final hours of the fiscal year: “You spend money you have rather than let it lapse.”

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The use of federal IT consultants, who often charge up to $1,000 a day, costs taxpayers approximately 25% more than having departments perform the work internally, according to a Budget Office report released Thursday.

Blacklock's Reporter says the report analyzed spending in four major departments and raised questions about the justification for such premiums.

“The Budget Office found the cost of external contractors was between 22 and 26% higher than their public sector equivalents for four departments analyzed,” the report noted.

“With the data that was provided, the Budget Office is unable to determine the underlying reason for these premiums and whether these premiums were justified.”

The study focused on Employment, National Defence, Public Works, and Shared Services Canada — departments with the highest spending on IT services.

Analysts calculated the average number of days consultants worked and their daily rates. The findings showed a range of 222 to 238 days worked per year, with daily rates varying from $924 at Shared Services Canada to $964 at Employment.

Recordkeeping issues further compounded concerns. Public Works, responsible for overseeing federal contracting, lacked a central financial system to track the number of consultants hired, their charges, or work durations. The Canada Border Services Agency, another major user of IT consultants, failed to provide sufficient data for analysis.

The report stemmed from a request by the Commons government operations committee following hearings into the $59.5 million ArriveCan program. The program faced scrutiny over sole-sourced contracts awarded to GC Strategies Ltd., a two-person consulting firm operating from a private home.

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Public Works Minister Jean-Yves Duclos’ department yesterday was faulted for unprofessional treatment of dozens of contractors. Criticism by the Procurement Ombudsman followed Duclos’ assurance to MPs that his department was “doing really, really good.”

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The Department of National Defence is failing to maintain a critical stockpile of emergency medical supplies to protect the military in case of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack, says an internal audit. The report follows investigations showing the Public Health Agency similarly failed to stock pandemic supplies prior to the spread of Covid-19: ‘Supplies are needed to treat casualties.’

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Canada should honour volunteers who served in the 1990 Persian Gulf conflict as legitimate wartime veterans, the Commons veterans affairs committee says in its final report to the 44th Parliament. The “legal semantics” of whether veterans were at war or not meant reduced disability benefits for 4,458 Canadians who served in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm: “Wrong answer.”

You don't say:

Canadian journalist Tahir Gora believes that outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's diplomatic row with India was a desperate attempt to garner votes, which ultimately backfired.

Trudeau's popularity had been waning due to his handling of immigration policies and the economy, and his party's trust in him had begun to erode. He raked up the diplomatic row with India only for his 'vote bank politics' which didn't work, Gora said.

Who gets deported?:

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says it will be eliminating 3,300 positions over the next three years.

IRCC confirmed the coming job cuts in a statement to CTV News Ottawa on Monday.

“IRCC can confirm that a message was shared with all IRCC employees on Monday, January 20 regarding upcoming labour reductions. Over the next three years, we will reduce our planned workforce by approximately 3,300 positions. This will impact to various degrees every sector and every branch across IRCC, both domestically and internationally, in HQ and in the regions, and at all levels, including up to the executive levels," the statement said.

“We estimate that about 80% of these reductions can be achieved by reducing staffing commitments and our temporary workforce. The remaining 20% of reductions will need to be achieved through the Workforce Adjustment process and will affect indeterminate employees."

The federal department says these staffing changes are meant to align with reduced immigration levels and funding.

Also:

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that refugee claims by Mexican nationals have plummeted 97% since the government reintroduced a visa requirement for travelers from Mexico in 2024.

The decision followed a surge in fraudulent asylum applications, Miller told reporters.

“Responding to a clear increase of fraud in the asylum system as seen in the increasing number of rejected, withdrawn, or abandoned applications, we put in place a visa requirement for Mexican nationals,” Miller said.

“Since that time, asylum claims from Mexican citizens at our airports have decreased by 97% compared to 2023.”

 

It turns out that Ontario Premier Doug Ford's jingoistic hats are made by some other slave labour:

Ford's 'Canada not for sale' hat appears to be made in Southeast Asia