It’s shocking to see a governor general resign amidst revelations about a toxic work environment at her office.
For taxpayers, it’s even more shocking to know we’ll have to keep paying her expenses.
Given the kind of behaviour allegedly outlined in the government’s report, Julie Payette had no real choice but to resign as governor general. Toxic management would never be tolerated in any other workplace. It’s certainly unacceptable for the Queen’s representative in Canada.
Toxic work environment isn’t the only issue with Payette’s time at Rideau Hall
But a toxic work environment isn’t the only issue with Payette’s time at Rideau Hall.
Payette has never been a friend to taxpayers, racking up $65,000 in flights, meals and other expenses in her first a year and a half in office – more than fifty times more than her predecessor spent in the same time span. Her swearing-in ceremony cost taxpayers a whopping $649,000.
Those bills are bad enough, but it gets worse: Payette’s departure doesn’t mean taxpayers are off the hook. Incredibly, the job she just left comes with an expense account so generous that you get to keep it even after you’ve left the job. She can keep submitting receipts for expenses such as staff salaries and travel bills for decades to come.
It’s been this way for at least forty years, and in spite of repeated calls for it to be fixed, no government has done anything about it.
If ever there was a time to fix it, it would be now. Under the current rules, Payette is eligible for an inflation-adjusted pension of $143,000 per year, as well as a “start-up grant” for ex-governors general who want to establish a charity. For example, former governor general Adrienne Clarkson received $3 million to create the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
On top of the golden pension and multi-million-dollar “start-up grant,” ex-governors general can still bill taxpayers for “expenses” – indefinitely. And since the government does not proactively release any details about these expenses, and current access to information laws don’t cover former governors general, we don’t even get to know what we’re paying for.
Ensure Canadian taxpayers aren’t stuck bankrolling a disgraced former official for the rest of her life
So that’s a cushy expense account, for an unlimited time, with near-zero accountability.
This policy first came to light in 2011 when it was reported that former governor general Adrienne Clarkson (who had already achieved notoriety for her free-spending ways while still in office) had billed taxpayers for more than $500,000 for “temporary” secretarial help after retiring in 2005. Then, in 2018, it came to light that Clarkson’s “temporary” needs had apparently become permanent, running up the total taxpayer bill to more than $1.1 million.
In the wake of the public attention drawn to Clarkson’s million-dollar-plus tab, Trudeau promised to review the ex-governor general expenses program, but more than two years later, nothing has changed.
It needs to change. Immediately. No governor general should be billing taxpayers after leaving the job. And Payette shouldn’t get a dime.
If it’s merely unfair to taxpayers to be stuck bankrolling the expenses of every former governor general, it’s a huge slap in the face to make them to pay for one forced from office due to scandal. And at a time when the Trudeau government should be looking to cut non-priority spending wherever it can, this one should be a no-brainer.
The prime minister needs to scrap this policy and ensure Canadian taxpayers aren’t stuck bankrolling a disgraced former official for the rest of her life.
