Podcasts produced by numerous authorities departments and businesses are costing massive {dollars}
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OTTAWA — Canadian taxpayers paid almost $2 million to provide scores of presidency podcasts that few Canadians are tuning in for.
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Info unearthed in authorities paperwork reveals the prices of those broadcasts produced by numerous authorities departments and businesses — a few of which eat up hours of worker assets and price tons of of hundreds of {dollars} to create.
The information is gleaned from an access-to-information request by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and a voluminous November 2023 order paper query tabled by Conservative MP Rob Moore.
Authorities-produced podcasts value taxpayers at the very least $1.7 million.
Among the many costliest podcasts was Eh Sayers produced by Statistics Canada, which value $773,217 to provide 22 episodes.
Began in Nov. 2021, the podcast had 5 full-time employees members, lowered to 3 after December 2022.
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Enhancing software program, publishing and analytics instruments value $3,427, whereas consuming up $769,790 in payroll.
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Matters embody a March 19 chat concerning the revitalization of the Cree language and a June 2023 episode on Canada’s inhabitants passing 40 million.
An August 2023 episode on the census kicked off with a “drag story time” studying by drag king Cyril Cinder of Molly’s Tuxedo, a youngsters’s ebook on gender nonconformity.
Authorities paperwork listing an “estimated” subscriber depend of 229.
CCI and CHIN: In Our Phrases, produced by Canadian Heritage, is a discussion board for Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) and Canadian Heritage Info Community (CHIN) staff to speak about assortment conservation and administration.
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The podcast’s seven episodes between 2019 and 2021 value $155,736 — or $22,000 per episode.
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Prices embody $949.50 for licences with Adobe, $2,979 for internet hosting companies, $1,996 on microphones and recording tools, $9.087 for “podcast coaching and consulting,” $4,875 for voice actors, $18,618 on translation, and $115,310 on salaries.
Wholesome Canadians, a Well being Canada podcast celebrating its first anniversary on Friday, value $67,000 — together with $34,513 for “podcast technique, editorial planning and worker coaching,” $28,740 for “manufacturing, enhancing & distribution,” and $3,749 in transcription.
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Canadian IP Voices, produced by Innovation, Science and Financial Improvement Canada, helps companies navigate the world of emblems, patents, copyrights and different mental property points.
Produced by seven full-time staff of the Canadian Mental Property Workplace, the 39-episode, three-year-old podcast sequence value $89,444 — $20,972 in “sound processing companies,” $972 for internet hosting, and $67,500 in payroll.
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StatsCan Spokesperson Carter Mann informed the Toronto Solar that Eh Sayers frequently ranks in numerous podcast charts and is utilized by post-secondary professors of their curricula.
“We proceed to watch efficiency metrics and adapt our methods to make sure that the podcast reaches as many Canadians as attainable,” he mentioned. “Most episodes surpass 470 downloads throughout the first seven days of launch, inserting Eh Sayers within the high 10% of all podcasts based on The Podcast Host metrics.”
Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, mentioned Canada’s forms has sufficient points with out spending almost $2 million on podcasts few folks take heed to.
“If bureaucrats need to produce podcasts on gender ideology, arts and crafts, or misinformation, they’ll do it on their very own time with their very own dime,” he mentioned. “Taxpayers don’t want and don’t need a bunch of overpaid authorities bureaucrats making an attempt to turn into the following massive factor in podcasting.”
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