Arbour notified members of Parliament that she is cutting her clothing allowance, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
“The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General has recently revised its guidelines for clothing,” reads a letter to Parliament’s government operations committee. The letter didn’t specify the savings of the updated clothing allowance, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Government policy allows governors general to expense up to $130,000 in clothing purchases over their five-year mandate. Former governor general Mary Simon billed taxpayers thousands for clothing, including luxury wool suits, shoes and a “sealskin chest piece.”
The governor general also takes automatic pay raises every year. The governor general’s annual salary is now $393,800, according to the Privy Council Office.
A Leger poll shows 59 per cent of Canadians support reducing the governor general’s salary.
In addition to the pay raises and clothing allowance, a former governor general takes a pension of about $150,000 per year and gets a lifetime expense account of up to $200,000 annually after leaving office.
“If Prime Minister Mark Carney is serious about saving money, he needs to do more than accept a smaller clothing budget,” Terrazzano said. “Carney needs to end the automatic pay raises, platinum pension and lifetime expense account.”
For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Franco Terrazzano
CTF Federal Director
Phone: 403.918.3532
Email: fterrazzano@taxpayer.com
