The catering costs incurred by Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, and her entourage on a recent trip to the Middle East, which reached nearly $ 100,000, continue to provoke reactions in Ottawa.
In a statement sent to several media outlets, including the CBC, the English network Radio-Canada, and The Canadian Press, the Department of National Defense (DND), responsible for the trip, on Thursday tried to reduce the role of Rideau Hall. in controversy.
Excluding the office of Ms. Simon decisions that may have an impact on catering costs when he and his team used the Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft, he insisted.
Although we strive to reduce the cost of meals at all times, catering services are only available from certain suppliers specified by various airports and local authorities, with costs that set by these suppliers.written by the spokesman for DNDDaniel Le Bouthillier.
The Canadian dollar exchange rate also influences costsHe added.
The $ 93,117.89 bill has also been dropped amid controversy. National Defense now says that amount actually represents the price originally estimated by the authorities. The actual note, his argument today, is instead $ 80,367.19.
[Cette facture] includes three dinners, three lunches, two dinners and various snacks for 29 passengers, in addition to 17 crew.said the ministry.
These catering services are offered on some flights between March 16 and 24. Trips aboard the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CC-150 Polaris Airbus have notably allowed Ms. Simon to travel to the World Expo in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and to stops in London, Qatar and Kuwait.
The Bloc is calling for AG intervention
Regardless of the new details revealed on Thursday by the Defense, the Bloc Québécois wants to shed light on this issue.
The Second Opposition in Ottawa filed a motion Thursday before the Public Accounts Committee requesting that the Auditor General seriously consider reviewing the costs incurred by the Governor General.
The motion, filed in conjunction with the request already made publicly to subpoena Ms. Simon, is due to be debated by committee members next Tuesday.
The Tory MP behind the question informing the spending, Michael Barrett, had a similar criticism in Question Time.
Canadians struggle to survive. They see the price of everything rising […] while Liberal representatives make a living jet set in the whole worldhe launched.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
