WINNIPEG: A federal access to information request found that total administration cost for the Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance program (AIDA) could be more than three times higher than originally budgeted by the time the program winds up later this month. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation filed the request.

The total cost of administering the program nation-wide was originally projected at $30 million over two years. Instead, AIDA costs came in at $48 million over the same period to administer just five provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia).

AIDA made little impact on the farm crisis, but grew a bumper crop of bureaucracy," said Victor Vrsnik CTF provincial director. "Bureaucrats, not farmers, were the biggest beneficiaries of AIDA."

In the other five provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, PEI, and British Columbia) the provincial governments operate their own AIDA administration under separate cost sharing arrangements with the federal government.

At the outset, 3% of the AIDA budget was allocated to cover administration costs in the five provinces where the feds run the program. Now, administration costs have run up to 14% of the total value of AIDA payments. If costs are similar to those in the other five provinces that run the AIDA program themselves, the Canada-wide administration cost could easily top $100 million.

Costs for the five provinces where AIDA is federally run include $26,369,159 for salaries and benefits, $810,934 for travel, $756,703 for temporary help and students, and $2,711,651 for consultants.

"AIDA was complicated program that was eroded by remarkably high personnel and consulting costs," suggests Vrsnik.

Other big costs include $1,222,793 for the repair and maintenance of buildings, $599,180 for repair and maintenance of equipment, and $656,626 for rentals.

AIDA was replaced last year by the Canadian Farm Income Program.