Names of hotels used during the trip’s three stops were redacted from the documents. A little over $2,500 was spent on official gifts
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The prime minister’s six-day trip, accompanied by his son, to “strengthen ties” in the Indo-Pacific region in September cost taxpayers nearly $2 million, with nearly $200,000 spent on in-flight catering.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his oldest son Xavier, and 51 others departed on the six-day trip on September 2 aboard a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris, destined for Indonesia and Singapore, plus a visit to India to attend last summer’s G20 summit. The purpose of the trip was to work with international partners to tackle “crises and challenges” including the inflation and food and energy insecurity.
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According to documents obtained through an access-to-information request, the total cost of the trip came to $1,908,243.
Costs for the trip included $190,000 on in-flight catering, $643,000 for aircraft handling and fuel fees, $422,000 for lodging, $129,000 for ground transportation and $427,000 for RCMP security costs. The numbers contained in the documents are not final, as invoices and claims are still being processed.
“I guess one way to beat the high cost of groceries in Canada is to take a government work trip and bill taxpayers for fancy airplane food,” said Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Franco Terrazzano.
The prime minister’s entourage arrived in Jakarta on September 5 to attend the ASEAN summit, where he helped launch the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership and hold bilateral discussionss with a number of world leaders, including Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
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The group then departed for Singapore, where Trudeau met with the country’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, before flying to India for the G20 summit.
The trip took a turn when the prime minister’s aircraft suffered a mechanical breakdown in Delhi as crews were preparing the three-decade old airliner to depart, prompting Air Force officials to dispatch repair crews and a second plane to India to rescue the stranded passengers.
Canadian officials declined the Indian government’s offer to lend its executive aircraft, Air India One, to allow Trudeau and his entourage to return home.
While the documents don’t include what was served on the flights, Terrazzano drew parallels with Governor General Mary Simon’s infamous March 2022 trip to attend Expo 2020 in Dubai, where she and her 29 guests racked up a $100,000 in-flight catering bill while aboard a government aircraft over the course of a week, complete with fresh flowers, beef Wellington and $165 for an undisclosed quantity of lemons and limes.
“The government told taxpayers it would cut down on these extravagant trips, but dropping $200,000 on airplane food doesn’t exactly scream fiscal responsibility,” Terrazzano said.
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“The government is more than $1 trillion in debt, so maybe it could cool it on these expensive international trips.”
The number of rooms booked by the government varied on each leg of the trip, with 53 rooms booked in Singapore and Jakarta, and 58 in New Delhi.
Names of hotels used during the trip’s three stops were redacted from the documents.
A little over $2,500 was spent on official gifts.
The stewardship and accountability of public funds are of the utmost importance to Global Affairs Canada. Global Affairs Canada ensures that public funds are spent responsibly, respecting accepted practices for both international procurement and Canadian official travel abroad.
The cost of official visits abroad is made public in the Public Accounts of Canada, tabled annually in Parliament and available to Canadians. We are committed to Canada’s presence on the world stage and advancing our national interests and values in a complex global environment. International diplomacy incurs costs, and these costs are influenced by a range of factors.
Global Affairs Canada, the Department of National Defence and the RCMP covered costs associated with their respective mandates for this visit.
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In the case of India and Indonesia, a key factor was that international summits affect both the availability and cost of accommodation due to the host’s organizational prerogative and the heightened security environment.
In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said that Canada is committed to maintaining an international diplomatic presence, and that costs money.
“We are committed to Canada’s presence on the world stage and advancing our national interests and values in a complex global environment,” the statement read.
“International diplomacy incurs costs, and these costs are influenced by a range of factors.”
The statement said that Global Affairs, the Department of National Defence and the RCMP covered their own costs for the visit through their own departmental budgets.
“In the case of India and Indonesia, a key factor was that international summits affect both the availability and cost of accommodation due to the host’s organizational prerogative and the heightened security environment,” the statement added.
Canada’s attendance at international conferences typically comes with some steep price tags.
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Last month, National Post reported the government spent $1.4 million to send 633 people to the 2023 COP28 climate conference in Dubai. The information did not detail how many of the attendees had their flight and room expenses covered by the government.
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