OTTAWA, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the federal government to release a full and detailed list of every expense spent on Governor General Mary Simon’s trip to the Middle East, in light of the report showing in-flight catering costing $93,118.
“It’s crazy that the governor general and her passengers racked up a nearly six-figure tab on in-flight catering, and we need to see exactly what all that money was spent on,” said Franco Terrazzano, Federal Director of the CTF. “If they are spending nearly six figures on in-flight catering, we also need to see the receipts for the full trip.”
Simon and her 29 passengers expensed $93,117.89 on in-flight catering services during her March 16 to 24 trip to Expo 2020 in Dubai, according to the National Post. The in-flight expenses for the 30 passengers cost more than $3,100 per person.
Itemized breakdowns of the expenses have not been made public and are not disclosed proactively. Furthermore, the $93,118-tab doesn’t include other expenses that may have been incurred during the trip, such as accommodations and meals while at the destinations.
“If they spent more than $3,000 each on in-flight catering, then taxpayers need to see how much they spent on hotels and food while on the ground in the Middle East,” said Terrazzano. “Taxpayers are footing the bill and we deserve to see the full and complete receipts.
“Why are the governor general’s expenses not posted proactively when the prime minister and ministers’ are proactively disclosed? Taxpayers deserve real transparency from Rideau Hall.”
