Taxpayers’ Advocacy Group Criticizes Federal Tourism Agency for Giving Bonuses During Lockdown
Employees at Destination Canada received bonuses and pay raises in 2020 and 2021 while the tourism industry shut down during COVID-19, records show.
There were 84 Destination Canada employees who received a bonus in 2020, with costs totalling $617,095, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) through Access to Information requests. In 2021, there were 92 employees that received a bonus, costing $604,153.
Federal director of the CTF Franco Terrazzano said a federal Crown corporation dedicated to promoting tourism shouldn’t be giving employees bonuses and pay raises while Canada’s tourism industry wasn’t allowed to host tourists.
“It’s tone deaf for Destination Canada to hand out bonuses and pay raises while the industry it’s supposed to promote was shut down,” Terrazzano said in a statement….