leader's office in Ottawa. After leaving CTF, she became Prime Minister Stephen Harper's press secretary. Activities CTF initiatives include public relations campaigns and paid advertising. Public policy campaigns are intended to incorporate greater involvement and support from the general public. Their representatives regularly appear before legislative hearings and committees. Its directors publish annual detailed pre-budget submissions, as well as reports on public issues including health care, tax reform, and "whistle blower" and freedom of information legislation. The CTF advocates for public policy issues and legislation related to direct democracy, taxpayers protection legislation, and the Canada Pension Plan. Government spending The organization regularly comments on government spending, and in 1993 built a "debt clock" to display the per-second increase of Canadian's debt and the share owed by each family. The clock was resurrected in 2011 to show the federal debt per capita. The clock is still used at events across the country, most recently in the summer of 2016 when the debt clock was toured across the country by Federal Director Aaron Wudrick to raise awareness of Canada's growing debt burden. There is also an online version at debtclock.ca. In 1995 the organization also organized 19 Tax Alert rallies to promote lower taxes. The rallies were attended by 20,000 Canadians, and gathered 233,000 petition signatures. At this time, the organization also encouraged governments to adopt legislation requiring budgets to be balanced. Ontario PC Leader Mike Harris signed the pledge drafted by CTF that stated he would not increase taxes without gaining voter approval first. Events Gas Tax Honesty Day Gas Tax Honesty Day is a day where the organization advocates for federal and provincial governments to end the practice of calculating the GST or HST after it has already levied provincial and federal excise taxes on gasoline. The organization has organized this occasion for 20 years as of 2018. CTF reported that Canada collected $1.6 billion in additional taxes due to this practice. To calculate the costs of these practices the organization publishes yearly reports. The 2018 report shows that on average taxes make 33% of the pump price for gasoline and 30% diesel. It also shows that tax-on- tax on gas costs an extra 3 cents per liter on average, allowing governments to rake in an additional $1.84 billion in revenue. TaxFighter Award The TaxFighter Award given by the organization to Canadian citizens which it believes demonstrates commitment and dedication