Gov’t Spent Over $160K on Trudeau Family’s Weeklong Trip to Jamaica: Federal Records

Gov’t Spent Over $160K on Trudeau Family’s Weeklong Trip to Jamaica: Federal Records
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Trudeau board a government plane in Ottawa on Jan. 9, 2023. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Peter Wilson
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The government spent over $160,000 on a weeklong vacation in Jamaica that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family took to ring in the new year, newly released federal figures show.
In an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons on March 20, cabinet released details of expenditures incurred by various federal offices and agencies because of the prime minister’s trip, which he and his family took in late December and into early January 2023.

Trudeau and his family travelled on government aircraft for the trip, as is dictated by government policy, and were accompanied by a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flight crew of four.

The Inquiry noted that the prime minister and any of his guests on the trip reimbursed the federal government with “an equivalent commercial airfare” for the air travel.

However, accommodation costs for the prime minister and his entourage during the trip totalled over $29,950, while per diems amounted to over $3,680.

Expenses for the Privy Council Office’s (PCO) “support role” during the trip totalled over $13,000, which included costs of accommodations and travelling for PCO Tour Group employees.

The cost of providing RCMP security for the prime minister made up the bulk of the bill, coming to a total of just over $115,520 to pay for the security officers’ incremental salary costs, travelling, and accommodations.

However, the Inquiry noted that actual security costs may have been higher than the figures showed because they did not include “regular salary, costs related to supporting units, and Employee Benefits Plan costs.”

“As the trip to Jamaica occurred recently, additional costs are expected to be processed in the financial system,” it said.

The trip expenses were requested by Conservative MP Luc Berthold on Jan. 31, who also asked what hotels or resorts the flight crew and all attending government officials stayed at during the trip.

However, the Inquiry said in response that the RCAF does not disclose “any information that may expose security postures adopted to ensure the security of any given principal and/or event.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment on the trip’s high expenses, but didn’t immediately hear back.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.