CMHC dished out $31.7M in bonuses last year despite housing crisis, records show
· Toronto Sun
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OTTAWA — As Canadians deal with an unprecedented affordability and housing crisis, Canada’s national housing agency handed its employees tens of millions of dollars in bonuses.
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According to data revealed this week via an order paper question filed by Conservative MP Andrew Scheer , the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) dished out a staggering $31.7-million in taxpayer-funded bonuses to their employees last year.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) Federal Director Franco Terrazzano noted this isn’t the first time the feds have been called out on this.
“If your organization’s goal is making homes affordable, your C-suite shouldn’t be taking millions in taxpayer-funded bonuses while Canadians can’t afford homes,” he said.
“The housing minister promised to review CMHC bonuses years ago and the CMHC has handed out bigger taxpayer-funded bonuses every year since.”
79 executives got $3.5 million in bonuses
The CTF first shone light on CMHC bonuses in 2022, revealing the agency awarded its staff $48-million in pandemic-era bonuses.
That prompted former Housing Minister Sean Fraser to issue a statement stating he’d be willing to review the agency’s bonus policies.
According to the data, $31,720,451 in bonuses were handed out to CMHC staff — with $3,545,057 going to 79 agency executives, and $28,175,394 going to employees with positions that rank lower than the executive level.
The CMHC considers executive-level employees to include chief officers, vice-presidents, and directors.
In response to the Sun’s inquiries, a CMHC spokesperson said incentive pay isn’t linked to variations in the housing situation in Canada, but “part of the total compensation package for employees,” tied to responsibilities of individual positions and employee performance.
“CMHC recognizes employee performance through cash compensation, which includes a blend of base pay and incentive pay,” the statement said.
“CMHC does not pay bonuses to employees but rather has a structure where a percentage of compensation is conditional on employees achieving individual performance goals. Base salary is guaranteed, while incentive pay is not.”
The agency’s own data suggests Canadians are under intense housing pressure.
Nearly half of Canadians now spend more than 50% of their income on housing, a number that’s increased from just 39% in 2019.
“If bureaucrats taking bonuses made homes more affordable, every Canadian would own a home with an in-ground pool plus a cottage at the lake,” Terrazzano said.
“Canadians need more homes, not more highly-paid pencil-pushers rubber-stamping bonuses for each other.”