New Brunswick R.C.M.P. Secret Service have a computer as a Brain???
Trudeau's Montana holiday cost taxpayers much more than reported
Price tag for trip came to $228,839 — far higher than sum disclosed to Parliament
The price tag for the April 6-10 trip comes to more than $228,839, once the costs carried by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Privy Council Office and the RCMP are included.
That sum does not include the regular salaries of the RCMP officers tasked with protecting the prime minister, the Royal Canadian Air Force aircrew or the Privy Council official who normally accompanies the prime minister with the equipment needed to communicate securely.
That price tag is far higher than the figure the government reported to Parliament two weeks ago. In answer to a question placed on the order paper by Conservative MP Luc Berthold, the government disclosed $23,846 in spending on the trip by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Privy Council.
That lower figure did not include the $204,993 the RCMP spent on overtime and costs such as accommodations, meals, incidentals and travel associated with Trudeau's holiday. That spending was revealed only this week, in response to a question to the police force from CBC News.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and son Xavier depart New Delhi, India on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The government's answers reveal little about where exactly Trudeau went and what he did during his long weekend in Montana.
A U.S. Secret Service motorcade
Flight trackers showed that the prime minister's plane landed in Bozeman, Mont., the evening of April 6 and returned to Ottawa the evening of April 10.
In his filings with the ethics commissioner's office, Trudeau declared a "ground security motorcade" during a "private visit in Big Sky, Montana" as a gift from the U.S. Secret Service.
Driving from Bozeman to Big Sky takes about an hour.
Big Sky's skiing and snowboarding trails draw the rich and famous from around the world.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said the Secret Service does not consider the motorcade as a gift.
"Federal law mandates that the United States Secret Service provide protection to any heads of state while on U.S. soil," he wrote in an email response. "This protection is provided 24 hours a day by highly trained federal law enforcement agents and mission support teams. While traveling through the United States, visiting heads of state are also provided secure motorcade transportation in specialized government vehicles."
Guglielmi said information on the cost of the protection the Secret Service provided Trudeau was not readily available.
Trudeau's office refused to answer further questions regarding the trip, such as where he stayed in Montana, whether he paid for his accommodations, whether he visited anyone and who accompanied him there. It also refused to explain why the RCMP costs weren't disclosed when the government answered Berthold's question.
"As per long-standing government policy and for security reasons, the prime minister must travel on government aircraft, whether he is on official or personal business," Alison Murphy, spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, wrote in an e-mail response.
"As was the case with previous prime ministers, when travelling for personal reasons, the prime minister and any guests travelling with him reimburse an equivalent commercial airfare."
Previous travel controversies
Trudeau has run into controversy in the past over vacations with his family outside Canada. A trip to visit the Aga Khan on an island in the Bahamas during the 2016/17 Christmas break resulted in a bill to taxpayers of $271,000 and a finding from Canada's ethics commissioner that he had breached government ethics rules.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the Aga Khan on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
A trip from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4 this year to an exclusive estate in Jamaica cost taxpayers at least $162,000. The wealthy owner of the Prospect estate, Peter Green, is a long-time friend of the Trudeau family who has also donated to the Trudeau Foundation.
Melanie Rushworth, director of communications for the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's office, said the office doesn't approve vacations of elected officials and "would be involved only when the travel or stay could be considered a gift under the Conflict of Interest Act or the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons."
As is often the case with prime ministerial travel, the RCMP recorded the biggest tab for the Montana trip. In addition to the regular salaries of officers charged with protecting the prime minister and his family, the trip cost the police force $58,681 in overtime and $146,312 in miscellaneous travel costs.
The expenses listed in the answer to the order paper question for the Canadian Armed Forces include $2,752 for aircrew accommodations, $1,756 for per diems and $13,396 for other expenses, including aviation fuel, catering, handling and ground transportation.
The Privy Council incurred the lowest costs — $1,581 for accommodations, $1,226 for per diems, $1,667 for airfare, $26.72 for other expenses and $1,438 for other transportation.
Elizabeth Thompson can be reached at Elizabeth.thompson@cbc.ca.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
so many Canadians can't afford vacations or food or housing, meanwhile the rich and powerful are busy living it up
Guy Stone
Reply to Tom Tschritter
Trudeau 1/4 million.. Bev oda $16 orange juice. Be specific
Marie Harris
Reply to Tom Tschritter
Millions upon millions upon millions of Canadians can afford vacations and are not having any problems affording food or housing. Yes, some people are struggling but there has always been people struggling. Do you reduce your wants and needs in empathy with those less fortunate than you?
David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Do you?
Reply to David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
You make it obvious that apathy rules the day amongst the wealthy. However I believe that the over taxed poor folks have the right to complain about Trudeau the Younger's vacations
Reply to David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Reply to David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Reply to David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Reply to David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Charlie Thepyr
Travesty for a leader elected by the people to use tax payers money for personal pleasure. No regard or plan to assist Canadians with the high cost of everything and help for the homeless
Arlond Lynds
Reply to Charlie Thepyr
If you read the article almost all of the cost were for RCMP and their travel costs.
Dave Chambers
Reply to Charlie Thepyr
It wasn't their vacation - it was Trudeau's. If he didn't travel there would have been no RCMP cost. No excuses please just own it!
Dwain White
Reply to Charlie Thepyr
You expect a leader of our country to never have time off to rewind and spend time with his family? Everybody needs time off from their job and he is the PM so his ability to travel is governed by security
rules.
Sam Gillis
Reply to Dwain White
Are there no ski resorts or beaches in Canada where costs are in Canadian dollars supporting Canadian tourism jobs ?
Rudy Baker
Reply to Sam Gillis
Oh there are, but the taxes are higher.
Sam Gillis
Reply to Rudy Baker
Those higher taxes in Canada are going into Canadian government coffers to support Canadian social programs not supporting foreign government coffers !!!!
Marie Harris
Reply to Charlie Thepyr
So, I would expect that whoever your choice for PM may be, if they are in power next time, they will sit at Rideau Cottage or Harrington Lake and never leave the Ottawa area on anything of a personal nature? Good. Let’s make sure to hold them to that.
Marie Harris
Reply to Sam Gillis
Skiing in the Canadian Rockies is more expensive than skiing in Montana. By far.
Paul Doe
Reply to Arlond Lynds
I wouldn't go so far as to say that the PM should not have any vacations but he goes on more major vacations in a year than most Canadians do in a decade. At the end of the day, is it the straw that breaks the camel's back? No. But it certainly doesn't look good to every day hard working Canadians especially right now when so many are struggling financially. It is tone deaf. You would feel the same way if it was a Conservative PM doing all those trips.
David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
Not for the PM
John Carey
Well. Not for this PM. He thinks $ 6,000 / night hotels are his due.
Arlond Lynds
Basically this is what it costs for a PM to go anywhere for four days. It is not as if the PM has ANY control over these costs. Leave it to a former SUN reporter to dwell on this, she could report the same thing for anywhere any PM with the Harper demanded "world class" security goes. At least PM Trudeau doesn't fly Cadillacs around the world like his predecessor did.
Bill Williamson
Reply to Arlond Lynds
Correct - If you read the article almost all of the cost were for RCMP and their travel costs.
Casper Cane
Reply to Arlond Lynds
Yes it is but why did they report a fraction of the cost?
Rick Mailloux
Reply to Arlond Lynds
There is a difference between a vacation and government business...
Dave Chambers
Reply to Arlond Lynds
Then he should stay in Ottawa. He is useless going anywhere else.
Sam Gillis
Reply to Arlond Lynds
Why does Trudeau feel the need to vacation in a foreign country when Canada is one of the most beautiful countries in the world ?
Rebecca Younger
Reply to Casper Cane
Notice he doesn’t answer you.
Guy Stone
Reply to Arlond Lynds
It's the endless vacations and using an entire jet for himself. He has no choice on some of the costs but he can choose local destinations and perhaps only one remote vacation a year instead of every month
Chauncey Shawinigan
Reply to Arlond Lynds
I'm ok with some austerity for this guy...
Marie Harris
Reply to Casper Cane
They reported the costs that were pertaining to the PM and his travelling companions.
David R. Amos
Reply to Marie Harris
How much did the Secret Service charge us?
No comments:
Post a Comment