CIRA Financials (6.Viewing)

It is concerning that CIRA's expenses are growing out of control.

CIRA Expense Analysis - Why Are .CA Registrants Footing the Bill for Mission Creep?​

Fellow CIRA members,
After reviewing CIRA's FY25 financial statements, I'm deeply concerned about expense growth that far exceeds our core registry mandate. With only 3.4 million .CA domains and Canada's limited population, these spending levels appear unsustainable and represent mission creep funded by domain registrants.

CIRA Expense Breakdown - FY25 vs FY24​

Key Financial Reality Check​

• Operating Loss: $1,914,487 (before investment gains and asset sales)
• Revenue Growth: Only 5.4% while expenses grew 4.5%
• .CA Growth: Anemic 0.98% - barely keeping pace with population growth
• Per-Domain Cost: ~$13 per .CA domain in total expenses

Critical Questions for CIRA Management​

1. Staffing Bloat​

• Why did salaries increase 7.4% when .CA growth was <1%?
• How many employees does CIRA now have vs. 5 years ago?
• What's the justification for expanding headcount in a mature market?

2. Computer Operations Explosion​

• What caused the massive 14.5% increase in computer operations?
• Are we over-engineering solutions for a 3.4M domain registry?
• How much of this supports non-.CA activities?

3. Mission Creep Funding​

• Why are .CA registrants funding $4.4M in "community investment"?
• Should domain fees subsidize general internet infrastructure projects?
• What percentage of expenses actually support .CA operations vs. ancillary activities?

4. Sustainability Crisis​

• How is this spending level sustainable with Canada's limited population?
• What's the plan when we hit market saturation for .CA domains?
• Why are we depending on investment gains to cover operational losses?

5. Cost Allocation Transparency​

• What percentage of total costs are truly attributable to .CA registry operations?
• How much are cybersecurity and other services cross-subsidized by .CA fees?
• Why isn't there clear cost accounting between business lines?

The Bigger Picture Problems​

1. Market Reality: Canada has ~38M people. Even with 100% internet penetration, the .CA market is inherently limited.
2. Expense Trajectory: At current growth rates, expenses will become completely unsustainable within 5-10 years.
3. Cross-Subsidization: .CA registrants appear to be funding CIRA's expansion into cybersecurity, global governance activities, and community projects that exceed the core registry mandate.
4. Operational Inefficiency: A $1.9M operating loss suggests fundamental problems with the business model.

What Members Should Demand​

1. Clear cost allocation between .CA operations and other activities
2. Spending caps tied to .CA registration volume
3. Mission focus - return to core registry responsibilities
4. Operational efficiency targets to eliminate the operating loss
5. Transparent reporting on per-domain costs and cross-subsidization

The Bottom Line​

CIRA appears to be building an empire on the backs of .CA registrants while the core business stagnates. These expense levels are unsustainable given Canada's market realities and represent a fundamental breach of trust with the .CA community.
What are your thoughts? Are you comfortable with your .CA registration fees funding this level of mission creep and operational inefficiency?

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Data source: CIRA FY25 Audited Financial Statements

Just to chime in...

• Salaries are exploding everywhere, I know someone who is a teacher and his raise was as big as some peoples entire salary.
• The software costs for my wifes business are in the thousands and are increasing by 30%
• Memberships and fees are insane and out of control
• Everything is turning into a monthly subscription
• Computer equipment and software actually expires now
• Preparing a business tax return is in the thousands now instead of the hundreds
• Business growth is anemic while expenses are insane

So yes I see the CIRA costs skyrocketing but looking at my own costs and expenditures I can tell you I see a similar picture.

How do I deal with it? I buy less, and cut the size of expenditures, it won't be long before we see similar across all facets of business.

MapleDots said:

How do I deal with it? I buy less, and cut the size of expenditures, it won't be long before we see similar across all facets of business.

Click to expand...

Great advice and I echo the same.