Royal visit cost Canadian taxpayers $44,000 in police overtime
The RCMP spent nearly $60,000 protecting the couple during their time in Canada from November 2019 and January 2020.
A visit to British Columbia by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in February racked up more than $44,000 in police overtime.
The former royals visited Vancouver and Whistler for three days between February 14 and 16 to promote the Invictus Games, which are to be held in the province in February of 2025. The event, founded by Harry, hosts sporting events for wounded, injured, and sick armed forces personnel and veterans.
Meghan Markle faced backlash on social media after a clip from a new Netflix documentary featuring her and Prince Harry showed her making an exaggerated curtsy while imitating how she acted when she first met the late Queen Elizabeth.
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A freedom of information request by CTV News found that police spent an extra $44,555 on security-related overtime during the brief visit.
Although the Invictus Games reimbursed $10,221 through cost recovery, Canadian taxpayers were still responsible for $34,333 in overtime expenses. This amount accounted for 390.5 hours of work.
According to records obtained by CTV News, these costs are listed as "overtime for police security."
"We didn't specifically provide security for them," a Vancouver Police Department spokesperson said. "But we had officers in the area they were there [in] case any issues arose due to the ongoing protests in the city."
In a statement provided to CTV News, Doug Maynard, the director of security for Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025, clarified that police were in charge of public safety, while Prince Harry's security was covered through private funds.
"Taxpayers did not fund The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's security during their visit last February; their private security detail was paid by individual donations directed by the donors for that purpose," Maynard said. "Public safety was ensured by Vancouver Police resources in the area should issues have arisen due to protests in the city at that time."
It was announced in February 2020 that the couple would no longer receive RCMP security after they decided to drop their Royal titles. The RCMP spent nearly $60,000 protecting the couple during their time in Canada from November 2019 and January 2020.
Family-quitting foreigners Meghan Markle and Prince Harry want Canadians to pay for their security costs!
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"Tens of thousands of dollars is nothing to sneeze at," said Franco Terrazzanno of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. "It's hard to understand why taxpayers are footing this bill. The government owes taxpayers a clear explanation on what the policy is in these circumstances because taxpayers are paying and it's not clear why."
Prince Harry has been attempting to overturn a British government decision made in February 2020 that revoked his police protection when visiting the U.K. Since stepping down from their royal duties, Harry, Meghan, and their children have been living in California.
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