Trudeau heads to 'undisclosed' location in B.C. for another family vacation: report
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is en route to British Columbia for another family vacation, where he will remain until August 1.
Mohammad Hussain, a spokesperson with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), said Trudeau will incur the flight costs and those from visiting an undisclosed vacation. The specific location has not been revealed for security reasons.
Hussain did not say whether the prime minister would incur other expenses, including security costs and fuel. Rebel News attempted to contact the PMO Monday for clarification but did not receive a response by publication.
“Most Canadians will be baffled by how expensive Trudeau’s previous vacations were for taxpayers and rightly demand the government figure out a way to bring these costs down,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF).
Last year, Trudeau and his family billed taxpayers at least $678,000 for three vacations.
The backlash against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to intensify over another Christmas dash to Jamaica, prompting damage control by the federal government.
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) January 10, 2024
MORE: https://t.co/iznARZRbkQ pic.twitter.com/qNFJMNLyFJ
From December 26, 2022, to January 4, 2023, Trudeau spent at least $162,000 for a week-long vacation in Jamaica, according to an order paper question posed by Conservative MP Luc Berthold. He travelled to the same resort, Prospect Estate and Villa, free of charge the following year.
As first reported by Rebel News in March, the costs for flights, security and accommodations for staff and the RCMP details assigned to the Trudeau family exceeded $200,000 for the first trip.
The following year, family friend and Trudeau Foundation donor Peter Green, gifted the Trudeaus $84,000 in accommodations.
Politicians may accept gifts and other advantages only from relatives or family friends with whom they have a well-documented close bond, according to the Conflict of Interest Act.
In 2017, Trudeau breached the Conflict Of Interest Act for accepting a $215,000 vacation from a federal contractor, the Agha Khan.
SHOCKING: From April 6 to 10, the prime minister stayed in Bozeman, and Big Sky, Montana, costing taxpayers nearly a quarter of a million dollars, reported the CBC. https://t.co/XfipWXc18j
— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) October 5, 2023
“We've seen the government stick taxpayers with six-figure bills for Trudeau's previous vacations, so Canadians have every reason to believe this will be another expensive vacation for taxpayers,” Terrazzano told Rebel News.
“Trudeau needs to keep the receipts and be up front with taxpayers about the cost of this vacation.”
Last April 6–10, the prime minister stayed in Bozeman and Big Sky, Montana, costing taxpayers nearly a quarter of a million dollars. The $228,839 price tag exceeded the federal figure Parliament tabled in September.
Trudeau also went to Torino, B.C. with his family for the week preceding August 18, costing taxpayers another $287,285. “Additional payments may still be processed,” the PMO said.
“If Trudeau skipped just one vacation and instead stayed at his taxpayer-funded cottage at Harrington Lake, then he’d save taxpayers a bunch of money,” Terrazzano said.
Trudeau has taken 680 'personal' days as prime minister: report
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) November 22, 2023
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) claims he still works on 'personal' days, calling any suggestion to the contrary 'false and absurd.'
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Trudeau took 680 “personal” days up until last November, according to a National Post analysis of his public itineraries. The prime minister took personal days once every four days (24%), excluding election campaigns.
The PMO claimed he took calls with staff, calls with stakeholders, and briefings with officials those days.
PMO spokesperson Hussain told The Canadian Press they consulted the Ethics Commissioner's office before the trip. That follows controversy surrounding the second Jamaica trip in as many years.
The PMO initially claimed Trudeau would pay for his stay in Jamaica last Christmas, before later issuing a clarification saying the Trudeau and his family had stayed at no cost.
Trudeau said he stayed with friends over that holiday, like most Canadians often do. Except that an Ipsos’ poll earlier this year showed that fewer Canadians feel they can easily afford a vacation amid increasing inflation (19%, down four percentage points year-over-year), as reported by Global News.
WATCH: Pierre Poilievre slams PM Justin Trudeau over vacation paid for by wealthy donors to the Trudeau Foundation. When asked to pay the $80,000 gift back, Trudeau says they're family friends that he's known for decades. pic.twitter.com/6Z26bndUCd
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 19, 2023
Konrad von Finkenstein, the federal ethics commissioner, did not investigate the trip because his office was satisfied that Green was a close friend of the Trudeaus. The PMO claimed the ethics commissioner cleared his trip in advance, but Conservative MPs remain unconvinced.
“The Prime Minister’s Office said the ethics commissioner cleared the vacation,” said MP Michael Barrett. “The ethics commissioner has since said that is not a function they provide,” he added. “They don’t pre-clear vacations.”
Alex Dhaliwal
Journalist and Writer
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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