Ottawa gives us too little and costs us too much

If you think Ottawa costs too much, you're far from alone.

According to a recent poll, nearly two in three Canadians agree with you
Conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Montreal Economic Institute.

And given the state of federal finances, we understand why.

Increased costs

When the Trudeau government took office in 2015, Ottawa was spending
dollars in a year. According to the population then it was a bit high
By Canadian

This year, the federal government plans to spend instead
Dollars. If we were to report these amounts on an individual basis, we would be talking about higher costs than that
By Canadian. That is an increase of 56.6 percent.

Even being prepared
We've grown nearly 25 percent in spending per person over the past nine years.

Then the following question arises: Would you rather the federal government do 25 percent more, 25 percent better, or 25 percent faster for you?

If you answered no, you are not alone either.

When Canadians were asked if they felt Ottawa was giving them value for money, the sum
Some of them say that this is not so and the taxes are too high for the services they get.

A similar proportion of respondents said the problem is that they pay too much tax, not that they want more essential services handed over to the federal government, but that the federal government seems to be suggesting that they give them a little break. .

They don't even feel that the government is spending their money properly. Fewer than two in 10 Canadians
Ottawa directs their money towards the most important issues of the day.

Public servants

This is understandable given the development of the federal government in recent years.

When the first Trudeau budget was introduced in March 2016, the federal government did
officers in his employ. By March 31, eight years later, the federal government did instead
employees.

As for these 108,000 new civil servants hired by Ottawa, we must pay their salaries and benefits.

The result of these new appointments and sanctioned salary hikes is what we are paying for today
More money to pay federal employees.

To be clear, this increase in federal staff is a far cry from the increase in government spending since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office.

However, it remains symptomatic of a growing disconnect between the level of taxes we pay and the level of services we receive from the federal government in return.

Faced with such results, the federal government must realize that a major purge of its economy is necessary. Without it, no matter what he does, Canadians will see this as a level of government that gives us too little and costs us too much.

Renaud Brossard
Vice-President of Communications Montreal Economic Institute