Rideau Hall says Governor-General Mary Simon shares public concerns about the $ 93,000 catering bill accumulated on a government plane during a business trip to the Middle East in March.
Simon’s office said the Canadian Armed Forces was responsible for the governor-general’s flights during her working visits abroad and was “responsible for all decisions related to the catering of those flights.”
“The governor-general shares the public’s concern about spending and expects further clarity from responsible departments such as DND and GAC,” Rideau Hall spokeswoman Natalie Babin Dufresne told CBC News.
CBC News has asked Canada’s Department of National Defense and Global Affairs for an explanation and a detailed breakdown of the catering bill, but has not yet received a response.
A recently published answer to a question on a paper order from Conservative MP Michael Barrett revealed the cost of an eight-day trip for Simon and her delegation on a Royal Canadian Air Force plane.
Catering costs include “the cost of food, soft drinks and related charges, including the handling and delivery of catering, storage, cleaning and disposal of international waste, airport charges, administrative fees, security charges and local taxes,” the statement said. document. .
British Prince Charles shakes hands with Governor-General Mary Simon as he attends the Order of Military Merit ceremony on the second day of the 2022 Canadian Royal Tour in Ottawa on 18 May 2022 (Carlos Osorio / Reuters)
The answer to the order paper question says the $ 93,117.89 catering bill is linked to a multi-stage trip from March 16 to 24 that began in Canada, stopped in London to pick up Simon after her audience with the Queen, after which continued to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
The plane then stopped again in London before landing in Ottawa and then parked at a military base in Trenton, Ontario.
Simon and 29 others – including her staff, Global Affairs staff and Canadian delegates – were on board the plane, according to a document released by the House of Commons. This figure does not include RCMP officers and air crew members who may also have eaten during the flight.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Simon to travel to the Middle East to strengthen bilateral relations by meeting with Canadian ambassadors, heads of state and other top leaders. Simon was also the guest of honor at the National Day of Canada at Expo 2020 in Dubai, which was postponed by two years due to the pandemic.
Simon also met with members of the Canadian Armed Forces stationed in the region while visiting Ali Al Salem Air Force Base in Kuwait and Al Udaid Air Force Base in Qatar.
“The governor-general undertakes official and state visits abroad only at the request of the prime minister and in support of Canada’s international diplomatic goals,” Babin Dufresne wrote.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Canada’s new Governor-General Mary Simon and her husband Whit Fraser to tea in an oak room at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Tuesday, 15 March 2022 (Steve Parsons / Associated Press)
For security reasons, it is normal for the Governor-General to fly aboard the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CC-150 Polaris aircraft. The trip was Simon’s second visit abroad since he was appointed Queen’s representative in Canada in July 2021.
Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs Dominique LeBlanc, in charge of democratic institutions, said he had no idea about the cost of catering and was not involved in choosing the menus.
“I have no idea about the context of these flights or how these things are being done,” LeBlanc told CBC News on his way to Caucasus on Wednesday morning.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said in French on Tuesday that the governor-general would have to explain the catering bill.
The National Post announced for the first time the cost of catering on Tuesday.
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