By Isaac Lamoureux
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Easter vacation cost taxpayers more than $228,839, parliamentary filings show.
Two weeks prior to the final receipts being reported, the government claimed only $23,846 in spending on the trip, a discrepancy of over $200,000.
The vacation cost more than $228,839 when accounting for the expenses covered by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Privy Council Office, and the RCMP.
Conservative MP Luc Berthold filed a Question on the Order Paper in the House of Commons regarding the Montana trips expenditures, such as a breakdown of different expenses.
In their response, the government disclosed $23,846, which included spending by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Privy Council. The prior disclosure failed to report the $204,993 the RCMP spent on overtime and costs such as accommodations, meals, incidentals, and travel associated with the Prime Minister’s holiday.
Conservative Member of Parliament, Michael Barrett said that “Justin Trudeau charges another luxury getaway to Canadians who can’t afford to live.” Others are curious why there is such a discrepancy.
Trudeau’s plane touched down in Bozeman, Montana, on the evening of April 6, returning to Ottawa on the evening of April 10. In his filings with the Office of the Ethics Commissioner, Trudeau declared a “ground security motorcade” during a “private visit in Big Sky, Montana” as a gift from the U.S. Secret Service.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said the Secret Service does not consider the motorcade a gift.