Taxpayers billed $71,000 for Trudeau’s food while in Europe
By Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau managed to rack up a $71,000 food bill during a four-day trip to Italy and Switzerland, more than half of which was spent on airplane fare alone.
According to government records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, at least $43,000 was spent on dining in the sky.
Each member of the Canadian delegation cost more than $1,700, with the average meal cost hitting $145.
That’s no small feat considering Canada’s most recent Food Price Report said that an average family of four spends about $1,400 on food per month.
“The per person food bill for Trudeau and his entourage on this trip was more than the average Canadian family spends on groceries in a month,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano. “It would have been cheaper for each member of the prime minister’s delegation to go to the Keg, order a prime rib steak, a Caesar salad, baked garlic shrimp and a bottle of pinot noir for every meal.”
While Canadians increasingly line up at food banks, Trudeau’s taxpayer-funded trip could have been even higher, the records note, as “some accommodations were covered by Global Affairs Canada.”
Records from the Department of National Defence and the Privy Council Office also revealed that total expenses for the four-day trip fell just shy of $1 million.
The prime minister and his entourage travelled to Europe earlier this summer to attend the G7 Summit and the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, leaving taxpayers with a bill of at least $918,000, spent from June 13 to 16.