By Isaac Lamoureux
Conservative MP and ethics critic Michael Barrett is urging the interim Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, Konrad Winrich von Finckenstein, to probe Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s lavish vacation in Jamaica.
Barrett wrote in a letter raising serious ethical concerns over Trudeau’s stay at a luxury estate owned by a family friend, businessman Peter Green.
Barrett, in the letter to von Finckenstein, questioned the Prime Minister’s stay in Jamaica. The estate where Trudeau stayed, known for its high rental costs, was provided to Trudeau and his family free of charge.
“But the Prime Minister was hardly staying in a friend’s guest room over the Christmas holidays. Quite the contrary. The National Post reports that the Prime Minister stayed at the luxurious Prospect Estate in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Specifically, the Post found that the Prime Minister was staying at the opulent ‘Frankfort’ villa,” Barrett wrote.
“It is quite clear that the Frankfort villa has a defined commercial value, and that the corporate owners of Prospect Estate would be forgoing substantial revenue by letting the Prime Minister stay at the resort free of charge. As such, it is quite apparent that we are talking about a gift – and a very substantial gift at that,” he further emphasized.
Barrett highlighted the disparity between the gift’s value and the average Canadian’s income, saying, “For context, the estimated $84,000 commercial value for the Prime Minister’s nine nights of accommodation is greater than Canada’s median household income of $70,332.”
This is not the first time Trudeau faced criticism for his vacation trips, such as a previous trip to the same resort that cost taxpayers at least $162,000.
Throughout Barrett’s letter, he referred to the Conflict of Interest Act.