Government departments spent millions in flags, lanyards, bags

May 30, 2023

Newly released documents reveal big spending on items the Canadian Taxpayers Federation dismisses as largely frivolous

Government departments and ministries are spending big money on promotional items and branded merchandise, newly released documents show, including $200,000 on reusable bags and millions of dollars in Canadian flag allotments for parliamentarians.

The 445-page response to an order paper question submitted by Conservative MP John Brassard lists what was spent between Jan. 1, 2021, and May 2, 2023, on various branded trinkets and promotional items — expenditures the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s Franco Terrazzano dismiss as largely frivolous.

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“It’s like the government had a contest to see which department could come up with the dumbest way to spend taxpayers’ money and they all won,” Terrazzano said.

“This is what happens when you have too many bureaucrats with too much money and time on their hands.”

Among the priciest line items was $1.9 million spent by Canadian Heritage to purchase large Canadian flags for parliamentarians between 2021 and 2023.

Fiscal year 2021-22 saw the largest annual flag expenditure, spending $840,225 to purchase 25,500 flags at $32.95 a piece.

Canadian Heritage also spent $221,597 outfitting members of Parliament with 2.8 million small paper Canadian flags, and $291,616 for over six million Canadian flag lapel pins.

The Department of National Defence has spent over $1.06 million on promotional items since January 2021, mostly for recruiting and outreach purposes.

National Defence spent over $285,000 ahead of next year’s RCAF centennial celebrations, including $24,985 on tote bags, $22,628 on luggage tags, $18,729 on centennial patches, and over $30,000 on pens.

DND spent over $253,000 for promotional pens alone, according to the documents.

In addition, nearly 9,000 euros ($13,000) was spent by Battle Group Latvia to purchase laser-engraved coffee mugs, water bottles and carabiners, as well as stickers featuring battle group and NATO logos, for “public engagement events by Battle Group Latvia over the span of multiple operational tours.”

Another big spender was Fisheries and Oceans Canada, who according to their response spent $916,577 in promotional items, but opted to withhold information on what each item was, why it was purchased and what country the item was manufactured in, despite providing over 450 separate line items with dollar amounts and file numbers.

The National Post reached out to Fisheries and Oceans Canada for comment.

Another department less-than-forthcoming with their promotional spend was the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who confirmed the spy agency did indeed purchase promotional items for use at conferences, workshops and other events, but declined to elaborate in the interests of security.

The Communication Security Establishment, Canada’s national cryptologic and cybersecurity agency, had no such qualms — reporting over $42,000 spent on CSE-branded shirts, lanyards, hand sanitizer, water bottles, pens and socks.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also declined to provide information, explaining that the information wasn’t “systematically tracked in a centralized database,” and claimed they didn’t have enough time to provide a response.

CBC/Radio-Canada also said there wasn’t enough time to provide a response.

The CRTC declined to state how much it spent on 150 journals and 150 luggage tags, as it “constitutes third-party sensitive data.”

The Canada Council for the Arts, the Museum for Science and Innovation, the Canada Museum for Human Rights, Canada Lands Company, Canada Post, Defence Construction Canada and Telefilm Canada likewise withheld what they spent on promotional items, citing “sensitive data.”

Parks Canada also provided no information on the over 520 items it spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, claiming details weren’t tracked in the department’s financial management system.

Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada spent $45,125 on Maple Leaf lapel pins and $31,753 in little Canadian flags for citizenship ceremonies, as well as over $47,500 for pens, lanyards, flyers and brochures for distribution at events around the world.

Farm Credit Canada spent $10,640 to purchase 11,000 branded air fresheners, $74,844.50 on FCC hats, $22,150 on cooler bags, over $100,000 on various tote bags, and $25,462.50 on branded rain gauges.

Canada’s federally controlled bridges also purchased merchandise, including $9,737 in shirts, $1,994 for branded lunch boxes, $2,500 in cotton bags and $1,113 for optical mice for employee recognition programs at the Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc.; $988 in branded candy, $2,030 in “branded masks,” and $1,295 in bike reflectors for the under-construction Gordie Howe International Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor.

Destination Canada — a Crown corporation responsible for promoting Canada as a tourist destination — spent $19,000 on cross-body bags, $14,4000 on beanies, $15,873 on moccasins and $9,000 on branded charcuterie boards.

Across departments that provided information and cost breakdowns, around $200,000 was spent on branded reusable bags.

• Email: [email protected] | Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

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