The B.C. government is planning to expand the provincial sales tax (PST) to cover a range of professional services and consumer products you buy on Oct. 1. The government’s numbers show it will cost taxpayers nearly $1.5 billion over the next three years. That’s about $500 million a year.
The legislature’s all-party Standing Committee on Finance took submissions from British Columbians across the province and recommended the government cancel the tax expansion. But the government looks set to move ahead anyway.
So here’s a question worth asking: Do British Columbians support or oppose the PST expansion?
Global Affairs Canada hiked its hospitality spending 53 per cent in 2025-26.
That’s as Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps telling Canadians his government will spend less.
Can anyone in Ottawa say with a straight face that Canadians are getting 53 per cent extra value from government bureaucrats spending their money on hospitality?
Global Affairs spent $15.5 million on hospitality, hosting parties and events, last year. That’s up from $10.1 million the year before.
Nearly half – $7.5 million – was spent abroad.
Global Affairs spent $44.5 million on hospitality over the last four years.
It spent nearly $1.3 million in the United States last year, more than in any other foreign country.
And that’s not just because of recent trade tensions. Global Affairs spent more than $1 million there in each of the last four years.
Last year’s spending also included $582,700 in Mexico, where Global Affairs hosted a “French language and cultural diversity” festival, and $324,300 in South Korea, including hospitality for a “queer cultural festival” and a “French-Canadian culture” arts event.
The department spent $178,500 in Thailand, including a Canada Day celebration for Thai royals featuring lobster rolls, beaver tails and a live opera performance.
Global Affairs also spent tens of thousands of dollars on hospitality in countries where Canada has no embassy or consulate presence.
Over the last four years, it spent $12,821 in Libya, where Canada has no embassy or staff on the ground and tells Canadians not to go; $17,697 in Syria, where Canada has had no diplomatic presence since 2012; and $10,529 in Venezuela, where
Canada has no government office.
Global Affairs did not respond to the CTF’s request for an explanation of the spending in countries where Canada has no diplomatic presence.
Global Affairs also spent $570,000 on hospitality in countries with popular beach destinations over the last four years. That included Cuba, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic and Fiji, where spending spiked 381 per cent last year.
While Global Affairs continues to hike its hospitality spending, the Carney government ordered ministers to find savings of up to 15 per cent.
“Our government will work relentlessly to cut waste and drive efficiencies,” Carney said ahead of Budget 2025.
A memorial dedicated to those who served in the Afghan War will bear a land acknowledgment as well to honour “reconciliation,” with the Algonquin text costing nearly $30,000 for translation services.
However, the internal memo from Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight’s department did not say whether any of the 2,229 Canadian casualties in Afghanistan, including 158 killed in action, were Algonquin.
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The B.C. government is planning to expand the provincial sales tax (PST) to cover a range of professional services and consumer products you buy on Oct. 1.
The government’s numbers show it will cost taxpayers nearly $1.5 billion over the next three years. That’s about $500 million a year.
The legislature’s all-party Standing Committee on Finance took submissions from British Columbians across the province and recommended the government cancel the tax expansion.
But the government looks set to move ahead anyway.
So here’s a question worth asking: Do British Columbians support or oppose the PST expansion?
Global Affairs Canada hiked its hospitality spending 53 per cent in 2025-26.
That’s as Prime Minister Mark Carney keeps telling Canadians his government will spend less.
Can anyone in Ottawa say with a straight face that Canadians are getting 53 per cent extra value from government bureaucrats spending their money on hospitality?
Global Affairs spent $15.5 million on hospitality, hosting parties and events, last year. That’s up from $10.1 million the year before.
Nearly half – $7.5 million – was spent abroad.
Global Affairs spent $44.5 million on hospitality over the last four years.
It spent nearly $1.3 million in the United States last year, more than in any other foreign country.
And that’s not just because of recent trade tensions. Global Affairs spent more than $1 million there in each of the last four years.
Last year’s spending also included $582,700 in Mexico, where Global Affairs hosted a “French language and cultural diversity” festival, and $324,300 in South Korea, including hospitality for a “queer cultural festival” and a “French-Canadian culture” arts event.
The department spent $178,500 in Thailand, including a Canada Day celebration for Thai royals featuring lobster rolls, beaver tails and a live opera performance.
Global Affairs also spent tens of thousands of dollars on hospitality in countries where Canada has no embassy or consulate presence.
Over the last four years, it spent $12,821 in Libya, where Canada has no embassy or staff on the ground and tells Canadians not to go; $17,697 in Syria, where Canada has had no diplomatic presence since 2012; and $10,529 in Venezuela, where
Canada has no government office.
Global Affairs did not respond to the CTF’s request for an explanation of the spending in countries where Canada has no diplomatic presence.
Global Affairs also spent $570,000 on hospitality in countries with popular beach destinations over the last four years. That included Cuba, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic and Fiji, where spending spiked 381 per cent last year.
While Global Affairs continues to hike its hospitality spending, the Carney government ordered ministers to find savings of up to 15 per cent.
“Our government will work relentlessly to cut waste and drive efficiencies,” Carney said ahead of Budget 2025.
A memorial dedicated to those who served in the Afghan War will bear a land acknowledgment as well to honour “reconciliation,” with the Algonquin text costing nearly $30,000 for translation services.
However, the internal memo from Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight’s department did not say whether any of the 2,229 Canadian casualties in Afghanistan, including 158 killed in action, were Algonquin.
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