Federal delegation to UN climate summit pegged at $1.3 million ..and rising
Airfare for Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Climate Change, who recently claimed Canada no longer needs new roads, came in at $13,240.
The data on the cost of sending the mammoth Canadian contingent to the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates was made available in response to an inquiry of the ministry posed by Manitoba Conservative MP Dan Mazier.
Carbon Brief reports Canada sent a 742-person delegation, the 14th largest overall. For context, the American delegation, a country with ten times Canada's population, was 770.
Airfare for Steven Guilbeault, the Minister of Climate Change, who recently claimed Canada no longer needs new roads, came in at $13,240. His accommodation charges were $4461, and meals were $2,262.
According to the documents tabled in the House of Commons Wednesday, the final tally for the November 2023 taxpayer-funded trip to the largest annual meeting of climate scolds to date, officially known as COP28, has yet to be determined.
"The costs incurred do not reflect the final costs. There are still invoices and claims as well as recoveries between departments that have yet to be processed," the documents read.
COP28 is the largest gathering in the history of the annual UN climate meetings, with 97,000 people registered for last year's event, compared with 30,900 the year prior.
Read the documents:
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