VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Premier David Eby to save taxpayer money as documents show he wasted almost $118,000 on a party for B.C. bureaucrats.

“It’s crazy to spend more than a hundred grand on a party for bureaucrats when British Columbia has a huge deficit and families are lining up at food banks in record numbers,” said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the CTF. “Eby obviously isn’t trying hard enough to find ways to save money if he can’t even say no to a runaway party bill like this.

“Taxpayers have a message for the premier: Stop wasting our money.”

The B.C. government spent at least $117,841 hosting the Premier’s Innovation and Excellence Awards in Victoria on Nov. 26, 2024, according to documents obtained by the CTF through freedom of information requests. The reception “recognizes public servants on a provincial level,” according to the records.

The event invoice includes charges for:

●      French 75 cocktails costing $21 each

●      A three-course dinner costing $99 per person

●      Bottles of flavoured sparkling water costing $7.50 each

●      A “Custom Sandwich Lunch Buffet” costing $57 per person

●      A food and service charge costing $15,000

●      Room rentals costing $14,000

“The province could have saved $14,000 by hosting the reception five minutes away at the legislature or down the road at Government House,” Binda said. “Normal British Columbians are tightening our belts while the government spends our tax dollars on $21 cocktails and $57 sandwiches. Eby needs to show some respect for taxpayers and cut this kind of outrageous spending.”

Just three weeks after the premier spent six-figures on a party for bureaucrats, the B.C. government published its fall economic statement that showed projected deficit went up by $1.5 billion.

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