The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has once again honoured the "best of the worst" in public spending. Yes, the Y2K version of the Teddies was handed out this week in Ottawa.

Named after former (and fired) public servant Ted Weatherill who dined on the taxpayers tab for almost a decade, the "Teddies" annually put the spotlight on spending excess and contempt for taxpayers which is still endemic throughout each level of government in Canada. Here's a look at this year's nominees-

Federal Nominees

Best Ensemble with Comedic Writing - Minister Jane Stewart and Jean Chretien for their laughable defense of HRDC job grants.

Best Taxpayer Horror Film - HRDC job grants scandal: the internal audit and funding of dubious ventures and bankrupt companies.

Best Movie: HRDC and the Police Investigations - HRDC job grants scandal: 19 police investigations and alleged violations of the Financial Administration Act.

Best Screenplay with 4,000,0000 Possible Sequels - HRDC for its lack of management and tracking of Social Insurance Numbers.

Best Federal Example of Y2K Bandwagon Stupidity - The Millennium Bureau of Canada and its $143 million funding of Y2K initiatives.

And the winner is- HRDC for the Best Taxpayer Horror film. One critic put it best when he said, "this is an unacceptable way to spend public funds." By the way, that critic is Canada's foremost government watchdog, Auditor General Denis Desautels.

Provincial/Municipal Nominees

Best Ensemble in a Documentary - Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin and his 16-member Cabinet retreat cruise aboard a Coast Guard vessel.

Best Taxpayer Horror Film - City of Edmonton for property tax hikes, councilor pay hikes, councilor pensions and car allowances.

Best Screenplay Sequel - The BC Government and the Fast Ferry Fiasco: The Audit.

Best Provincial Example of Y2K Bandwagon Stupidity - Government of Ontario for the Millennium Memento book.

Best Movie: Mr. Potatohead - Government of Saskatchewan and the Spudco debacle.

And the winner is- the BC Government and the continuing Fast Ferry saga. While it took an iceberg to sink the Titanic the provincial auditor found that a few logs, clumps of seaweed or strong winds are all that are needed to keep these not-so-Fast Ferries in dry-dock.

The project, originally projected to cost $210 million, has stung BC taxpayers with a whopping $463 tab. When asked if they would apologize to taxpayers for this mess, the two Cabinet ministers now responsible for this file simply laughed. It seems the more arrogant you are toward and contemptuous you are of taxpayers puts you in good standing for a seat at the BC Cabinet table.

Lifetime Achievement

This year's winner is the Hon. Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage. From her defense of $106,000 MP salaries to the tape tax to overseeing funding for soft porn films like Bubbles Galore, Ms. Copps has built a legacy of taxpayer defiance.

And we should not forget the latest brainchild from Parks Canada - an agency Ms. Copps' oversees - and its plan to ethnically cleanse trout fish in Banff National Park. For more info, please visit our web site at www.taxpayer.com.

The Teddies, it's a shame just to be nominated.