CIRA Financials (2.Viewing)

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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​

Expense CategoryFY25FY24Increase% ChangeConcerns
Salaries and Benefits$19,973,173$18,598,512$1,374,661+7.4%Why are we hiring when .CA growth is <1%?
Computer Operations$9,116,523$7,959,235$1,157,288+14.5%Massive increase - what's driving this?
Community Investment$4,352,047$3,905,003$447,044+11.4%Should .CA fees fund general internet projects?
Marketing/Communications$3,674,260$5,290,560($1,616,300)-30.5%Only area with cuts - wrong priority?
Consulting$2,955,633$2,740,024$215,609+7.9%What consultants are we paying for?
Office/Administration$2,065,276$1,789,217$276,059+15.4%Administrative bloat?
Staff Training$579,164$624,427($45,263)-7.2%Cutting training while hiring more staff?
Industry Memberships$419,945$379,151$40,794+10.8%How many memberships do we need?
TOTAL EXPENSES$44,556,600$42,647,751$1,908,849+4.5%Unsustainable growth trajectory

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?

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.
 
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.
Without detailed disclosures, we really don't know what is going on.

Enhanced Disclosure Requirements

  • Line-item expense breakdowns for all categories exceeding $500K
  • Cost allocation between .CA operations and ancillary services
  • Multi-year trend analysis with variance explanations
  • Per-domain cost calculations and sustainability projections

I get your point about costs rising everywhere. You're absolutely right that businesses are struggling with inflation and cost pressures. But there's a big difference between CIRA's situation and what regular businesses face.

The Key Distinction: Monopoly vs. Market Accountability​


Your Business Reality: When your wife's software costs increase 30%, she has options:
  • Switch providers
  • Negotiate better terms
  • Find alternatives
  • Pass costs to customers
  • Reduce services if needed

CIRA's Reality: .CA registrants have zero alternatives to represent their Canadian identity online. CIRA is a government-sanctioned monopoly over Canada's digital identity. This creates a completely different accountability standard.

Why "Everyone's Doing It" Doesn't Apply Here​


1. Revenue Constraints vs. Market Freedom


Your situation: If costs rise, you can potentially raise prices or find new revenue streams.

CIRA's situation: They're limited to the entrepreneurs among the about 38 million Canadians. Market saturation is approaching. Revenue growth is capped by demographics.

2. Operational Efficiency Requirements


Private businesses can absorb inefficiencies if still profitable.
As a public trust organization, CIRA has a duty to operate efficiently with monopoly revenues.

3. Mission Accountability


Your business: Can pivot, expand, or change focus based on market demands.

CIRA: Has a specific mandate to operate the .CA registry. Not to build cybersecurity empires or fund global governance initiatives. I am fine with increasing marketing expenses to teach Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs about the value of using .ca domain names and what are the latest tools.

The .de and .eu ccTLD registries are far more focused on their missions to keep costs down as it helps all businesses and entrepreneurs. When Byron Holland spoke about competitive pricing, he spoke as if he was running a for-profit gTLD registry.


The Real Issues You're Missing​


1. Mission Creep Funding: Your software costs go to software. CIRA's .CA fees increasingly fund activities that have nothing to do with domain registration.

2. Sustainability Math: Your wife can cut expenses when revenue drops. CIRA posted a $1.9M operating loss while increasing spending. That's not sustainable cost management.

3. Monopoly Responsibility: When you cut costs, you hurt your own business. When CIRA wastes money, they're misusing a public trust with no competitive pressure to correct course.

What Proper Governance Would Look Like​


If CIRA operated like your successful business:
  • Cost allocation transparency: Know exactly what each service costs
  • ROI measurement: Track which expenses actually grow .CA registrations
  • Efficiency targets: Reduce per-domain costs while maintaining service quality
  • Focus discipline: Stop funding pet projects that don't serve the core mission

The Broader Principle​

Yes, costs are rising everywhere. This makes disciplined resource allocation even more critical, not less. Your response of "buy less and cut expenditures" is exactly what CIRA should be doing. But they're doing the opposite:
  • Cutting marketing (the one thing that drives .CA growth) by 30%
  • Increasing administrative costs by 15%
  • Expanding into activities beyond their mandate
  • Operating at a loss while building an organizational empire

Why This Matters to You​

Even if you're not concerned about CIRA's governance, consider this: poor financial discipline in monopoly organizations eventually leads to higher fees or reduced services. The current trajectory is unsustainable. Guess who pays when it crashes?

Your business discipline of cutting unnecessary expenses is exactly the accountability standard we should demand from CIRA. The fact that "everyone's struggling with costs" makes oversight more important, not less.

The question isn't whether costs are rising everywhere. It's whether CIRA is responding with the same fiscal discipline you'd apply to your own business.

What do you think about applying your own cost-cutting principles to how CIRA should be managed?
 

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