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Minister Clement...Need a Place to Start Cutting?

  • Feds organize new, annual afternoon of games for bureaucrats in Winnipeg
  • New half-day event includes games with rubber bands, crumpled paper and chopsticks, prizes and a "free" lunch

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) encouraged new Federal Treasury Board Minister Tony Clement today to start the waste cutting by scrapping a new federal initiative – the “Bureaucrat Olympics.”

Known officially as the “Tri-Level Challenge,” the inaugural games took place today at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, from 11:45-3:45, included a “free” lunch for the first 350 bureaucrats, games, prizes and other “surprises.” All three levels of government were invited to attend.

The games featured; shooting rubber bands into a garbage can 12 feet away, juggling crumpled up pieces of paper, dropping computer disks onto coffee cups, playing with chopsticks and some kind of walking game.

“If bureaucrats played a half-hour team building game that tied in to an overall training day, it’s doubtful most taxpayers would have a problem with it,” said CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig. “But dragging government employees away from their work to attend four hours of games at the convention centre, feeding them and handing out prizes? That’s going overboard.”

The CTF noted the federal government is currently running a $32 billion deficit, the province of Manitoba is running a $510 million deficit and the City of Winnipeg has said it has a $7 billion infrastructure deficit. This year the Manitoba government will receive $1.9 billion in equalization payments from provinces that did not appear to hold similar events.

“How did a brand new activity like this even get approved?” asked Craig. “The good news is Minister Clement won’t have to look far to find places to start cutting.”

Ironically, a year ago to the day, former Treasury Board Minister Stockwell Day announced an incentive plan to scrap this type of waste.

By: Colin Craig
Posted: June 14, 2011
Topic: Federal

Contact the regional director Colin Craig for further information.
Contact the regional director Gregory Thomas for further information.
Type: News Releases

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Comments

Thu, 2011-08-25 08:21 — An Anonymous Taxpayer

Governments need to start

Governments need to start reigning in the public service. In particular, we need to get rid of the defined benefit pension plans that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars. These plans are so lucrative, bureaucrats along with matching government contributions are not even coming close to paying for bureaucrats gold-plated pensions. As result, the rest of us, most of whom don't have a pension, have to pay for these excessive pension benefits so bureaucrats can enjoy the good life in Florida in their retirement years.

Most bureaucrats retire at 55 while the rest of us who pay the bills have to work to 65.

Wed, 2011-06-15 08:48 — An Anonymous Taxpayer

Great Idea At Last!!!

This event is a great idea and for the benefits reaped from it cheap.  The moral of all levels of government has never been lower.  Cuts to budgets and staff since 1992 have been excessive.  "Doing More With Less" has unquestionably been a complete failure.  Even in these tight economic times this still isn't the dark days of the Industrial Revolution where employers demanded the life's blood of employees for their salary!  Events like this are huge in team building, they bring personnel together in a friendly and social way, not tucked silently into their cubicles.  They allow for networking and finding out who is doing what to whom and in many cases employees find solutions to problems they have been experiencing from these contact situations.  In this case they allow for cross government socialization in a spirit of good fun and not the adversarial way they are normally working in.  I believe humans are social beings and need this type of good natured, fun time in order to perform better.  Being bent over a computer screen in a silent sea of cubicles is counter productive and has been proven to be harmful for both the mental and physical health of employees.  I can only hope this becomes and annual event, giving employees something to look forward to.  Since the Company picnic at Assiniboine Park has been cancelled, the Company Christmas Party has been eliminated, since the Company Rod and Gun Club Camp in the Whiteshell has been long sold, since the Company Trip to Grand Beach for a day of fun on the shore and an evening of dancing at the hall is long gone, maybe it’s time we relooked at the things that made employees work harder and with more loyalty in the past and resurrect them.  This is a good thing!!

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