While Canadians struggle with the rising cost of living, inflation, and a decision to either eat or pay rent some government officials enjoy lavish trips across the globe at taxpayer expense.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation reports Governor General Mary Simon incurred expenses totaling almost $300,000 during a four-day trip to Iceland last fall.
This includes a $71,000 bill from “Icelimo Luxury Travel” and hotel accommodations amounting to nearly $115,000.
West Vancouver and Sunshine Coast MP Patrick Weiler says while the government understands how tough times have got, the job of being governor general is one that needs proper tools to do it effectively.
“She has a very difficult job to do to represent Canada on the world stage, which requires her to constantly be at different events around the globe,” Weiler says. “She needs to be equipped to do those jobs effectively.”
When Weiler was approached with facts showing 12.5 percent of residents on Vancouver’s Sunshine Coast are currently living under the poverty line and one in five children don’t have enough food, he said some of the costs incurred during the trip were unexplainable.
“I can’t justify the limo costs of that amount; I am not even sure how it ended up in that amount,” he says. “I think reporting on it and getting it in the public eye is important so we can look at it.”
Weiler says he agrees with Canadians how costs of this magnitude can be upsetting especially when so many are working extra jobs just to make ends meet.
“I think some people are asking questions right now, and rightly so,” he says. “This amount is hard to explain even though she does have a very important role to fill.”
According to the Canadian Taxpayer Federation this is one of three trips where Simon left Canadians paying a large tab for her travel. In March of 2022 she spent $1.3 million during a trip to the Middle East, and in October of 2021 a trip to Germany cost taxpayers $700,000.
