Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had what was billed as his first "face-to-face" bilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
True, the faces in question were on video screens, but in the new pandemic reality, even world leaders need to make sacrifices. In this case, it meant no glowing, statesmanlike photo-ops or flattering footage showcasing smiles, backslaps and handshakes — remember handshakes? — all to be clipped for flogging in future election campaign ads.
There's something else that we don't get when meetings go virtual: big bills for taxpayers. There are no big official dinners or receptions. No battalions of bureaucrats and advisors tagging along to hobnob. No hotel bookings and no added security costs. Just a Zoom or Google Meet chat that doesn't cost taxpayers a dime (well, maybe a few bucks for the premium version.) Contrast this with the $257,000 bill for Trudeau's 2016 visit to Washington, or the $1.6 million spent on his infamous 2018 trip to India.
