Trudeau government will not disclose how much it spent on yoga mats and medicine balls

The end of the fiscal year for the Department of Finance can see some odd expenditures, as managers quickly spend any remaining budgetary funds before they expire.

This is again the case this year, as the department found it fit to spend their extra bucks on what they call a "wellness room."

According to an Access to Information record obtained by Blacklock's Reporter, managers spent an unknown amount of money on yoga mats and medicine balls to convert a room from a typical, non-aerobics focused office, to a comfortable room where employees can break a sweat.

The department did not disclose the amount of taxpayer dollars spent on the wellness room, though the taxpayer funded room is not available to the general public.

This wellness centre is for Finance Canada and Treasury Board only,” read Wellness Centre Rules And Regulations.

Fitness is no cheap industry. A physical trainer was paid $300 to “to create wellness room guidelines and a proper exercise prescription for each station and room layout," as the room is reportedly full of gym equipment, including aerobic steps, foam rollers, gliders, and the aforementioned yoga mats and medicine balls.

A fitness consultant was also brought in to instruct give instructions on how to use the equipment.

The fiscal year's close typically sees a spike in expenditures, as any remaining budget does not roll over into the next year. According to a Inquiry of Ministry filed in 2019, the so-called "March Madness" of 2019 saw a total of $2.09 billion in spending in the weeks leading up to the end of the year.

"March Madness" continues to be a problem that costs Canadian taxpayers more than it should. According to 4,000 pages of last-minute spending in federal departments in 2018, the government spent $10,033 on the last day of the fiscal year on Amazon purchases alone.