14th Annual “Teddy” Government Waste Awards Winners

TEDDIES BACKGROUNDEROTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today held its 14th annual Teddy Waste Awards ceremony, giving well-deserved recognition to the worst of the worst in government waste. CTF federal director Gregory Thomas hosted for the first time as Master of Ceremonies today at the black tie news conference on Parliament Hill. The CTF’s pig mascot Porky the Waste Hater joined lovely and charming guest hostess Catherine handing out the coveted golden sows.  The CTF’s signature waste award, the Teddy, is named after Ted Weatherill, a former federal government employee who was dismissed in 1999 for his outrageous expenses. Each year the CTF hosts the Teddy awards to recognize the governments, public office holders, government employees, departments or agencies that most exemplify runaway government waste. “Taxpayers can cry, we can shout and we can stamp our feet when we hear some of these outrageous stories,” said Thomas. “And we can laugh. Some government waste is so ridiculous, it deserves to be ridiculed. The Teddy ceremony is the highlight of awards season for many Canadians.”
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Don Quixote: My favourite is:

The federal Teddy award went to Agriculture Canada for paying $284 million to tobacco farmers to stop their production, only to have twice as many tobacco farmers in operation afterward.
The provincial Teddy was awarded to Alberta legislators who are on the standing committee on privileges and elections, collecting $1,000 a month for this despite the fact the committee has not met since 2008.
The municipal Teddy was awarded to the City of Montreal for paying snowplow operators to drive up and down sidewalks that have no snow, which became the subject of a popular YouTube video.