OTTAWA — The federal government ran a deficit of $1.0 billion for the first quarter of its fiscal year, down from a surplus of $5.0 billion in the same period last year though “broadly consistent” with projections in the 2016-17 budget, the Finance Department said Friday.”The financial results for the first three months of the fiscal year provide limited information with respect to the outlook for the year as a whole,” the department said in its fiscal monitor report.”This is because the timing of revenues and expenses can vary from year to year and because the results do not yet reflect several significant government initiatives, such as the introduction of the Canada child benefit.”In the spring budget, the Liberal government projected a $29.4-billion deficit for the 2016-17 fiscal year, which included billions in spending. Those expenditures included the Canada child benefit, which began going out to families in July.

Source: Ottawa runs $1B deficit in first quarter, down from $5B surplus last year | The Chronicle Herald

Wages and benefits for unionized government employees make up more than half of every dollar spent by provincial and local governments in Canada.This is why the current legal battle between the B.C. teachers’ union and the B.C. government is so important. Their decade-long fight is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court of Canada this November, and if the union wins, it will mean no duly-elected government in Canada could legislate policy contrary to anything negotiated with a union.Government union bosses across the country know that the result is vitally important in keeping their gravy train running. Eighteen unions applied to the Supreme Court for intervenor status – 12 were accepted. Only one citizens’ group on the other side of the argument applied – the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) – and it was rejected.

Source: Between Government And Unions, Taxpayers Have No Voice | Jordan Bateman HUFFPOST

The tax man is getting greedy and living in Alberta won’t give you the big break many hope for according to the Fraser Institute.

Its Canadian Consumer Tax Index says Canadians are spending more of their incomes on taxes than basic necessities.

According to the report, in 2015, the average Canadian family (including single Canadians) earned $80,593 and paid $34,154 in taxes.

That’s compared to the $30,293 spent on housing, food and clothing combined.

Source: Canadians spend more on taxes than basic necessities: Fraser Institute – 660 NEWS

In 2016, the average Canadian family will earn $105,236 in income and pay a total of $45,167 in taxes (42.9%). If the average Canadian family had to pay its total tax bill of $45,167 up front, it would have worked until June 6 to pay the total tax bill imposed on it by all three levels of government (federal, provincial, and local). This means that in 2016, the average Canadian family will celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 7.

Source: Canadians Celebrate Tax Freedom Day on June 7, 2016 | Fraser Institute

For taxpayers concerned with out-of-control government spending, 2012 started on a bright enough note. Last January, the Department of National Defence announced it wanted to buy 20,000 custom-printed stress balls for its staff. Once Defence Minister Peter MacKay caught wind of the plan, he quickly cancelled the contract, calling it an “unnecessary expense of taxpayer money.” Noble words, but it was a brief reprieve. As Maclean’s found once again when researching this project, whether it was Ottawa, the provinces, municipalities or the organizations they oversee, governments couldn’t help themselves when it came to doling out cash. What follows is but a fraction of the foolish, wasteful and blatantly stupid ways governments found to spend taxpayers’ money. To uncover this year’s 99 items we pored over press releases and auditor generals’ reports, sifted through proactive disclosure statements and delved into media databases across the country, ferreting out examples of spending that occurred in 2012 or came to light last year. There will be those who take issue with some items on this list, arguing, for instance, that funding rock concerts boosts the economy. But the reality is that at every level of government, we’re in far worse fiscal shape than we were even a year ago, despite all the talk of cutbacks and austerity. And as this list makes clear, those who control the public purse have yet to really change their ways.

Luxury hotels, hemp body cream and subsidized hip-hop concerts: our second annual list of waste shows spending by all levels of government is still out of control. Find 33 of those stupid things below. And check us out tomorrow to see 33 more stupid things your government did with your money.

Source: 99 stupid things the government did with your money: Part I – Macleans.ca

The federal government has spent millions on online advertising since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came to power and is getting increasingly sophisticated in its ability to target its messages to Canadians.

A study by iPolitics of 682 pages of documents tabled recently in the House of Commons reveals that government departments spent more than $3.3 million between the time Trudeau’s government was sworn in and April 22, 2016. Of that amount, Google pocketed $1 million, with government promotions for everything from getting Canadians to help support Syrian refugees to recruiting candidates for the Canadian Armed Forces.

Government departments also “liked” Facebook, spending more than $904,822 to get their message out on the popular social media platform during that time frame. Yahoo was next at $406,920 followed by Twitter at $364,090. The government also spent more than $161,847 on YouTube, $96,051 on Bing and $17,608 on advertising on Huffington Post.

Source: Trudeau government spending millions on digital ads IPOLITICS