Cabinet rejected an all-party demand for more public accounting of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s expenses, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The Governor General has a mandate to travel internationally to advance Canada’s interests and priorities,” said cabinet in a letter to the House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC). “That said, the government seeks to continually review and improve its current practices with a view to deliver better oversight, controls and value on a range of cost drivers.”Spending at Rideau Hall jumped 11% last year to $37.6 million. The CGOC recommended in a report in October Rideau Hall document its travel costs and publish an annual report on its activities with itemized costs. Cabinet rejected the proposal without comment. To cut costs, the CGOC said Rideau Hall should cut the size of travel delegations, fly on commercial airplanes rather than private jets, limit menu choices for in-flight catering, and ban the use of silverware. No MP defended spending by Simon. Simon and travelling companions dined on steak, cake and Chardonnay on a junket to Dubai in 2022. READ MORE: Gov.-Gen. had steak, cake, and Chardonnay on Dubai flight“Ordering enough meals of each option so that passengers have a choice is a challenging art,” said Global Affairs Canada (GAC). GAC staff said Simon and 45 friends ate typical airline food. Actual menus for meals costing $218 per plate featured French crepes, beef Wellington, and red velvet cake with Chantilly cream.Simon billed $801,418 to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair with 32 people in 2021. Expenses included a $19,794 banquet for prominent Frankfurt Book Fair attendees in Germany. Additionally, MPs discovered she billed $71,000 for limousine rides in Iceland and $37,000 for a new wardrobe, including silk jackets and $380 shoes. Expenses were in addition to her $324,173 annual salary. “Forty thousand dollars’ worth of clothes and a $324,000 a year salary?” said Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC). “I think you can afford clothes.”The Conservatives said in a submission to the CGOC Rideau Hall spending was unjustifiable. “This type of lavish spending erodes the trust of Canadians in the Office of the Governor General,” said the Conservatives. Conservative MP Kelly Block (Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, SK) said Simon “has shown a lack of respect for taxpayers — the Canadians she is meant to represent.”“The job for which she has been tasked has become a means to expense an extravagant lifestyle,” said Block.
Cabinet rejected an all-party demand for more public accounting of Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s expenses, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “The Governor General has a mandate to travel internationally to advance Canada’s interests and priorities,” said cabinet in a letter to the House of Commons Government Operations Committee (CGOC). “That said, the government seeks to continually review and improve its current practices with a view to deliver better oversight, controls and value on a range of cost drivers.”Spending at Rideau Hall jumped 11% last year to $37.6 million. The CGOC recommended in a report in October Rideau Hall document its travel costs and publish an annual report on its activities with itemized costs. Cabinet rejected the proposal without comment. To cut costs, the CGOC said Rideau Hall should cut the size of travel delegations, fly on commercial airplanes rather than private jets, limit menu choices for in-flight catering, and ban the use of silverware. No MP defended spending by Simon. Simon and travelling companions dined on steak, cake and Chardonnay on a junket to Dubai in 2022. READ MORE: Gov.-Gen. had steak, cake, and Chardonnay on Dubai flight“Ordering enough meals of each option so that passengers have a choice is a challenging art,” said Global Affairs Canada (GAC). GAC staff said Simon and 45 friends ate typical airline food. Actual menus for meals costing $218 per plate featured French crepes, beef Wellington, and red velvet cake with Chantilly cream.Simon billed $801,418 to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair with 32 people in 2021. Expenses included a $19,794 banquet for prominent Frankfurt Book Fair attendees in Germany. Additionally, MPs discovered she billed $71,000 for limousine rides in Iceland and $37,000 for a new wardrobe, including silk jackets and $380 shoes. Expenses were in addition to her $324,173 annual salary. “Forty thousand dollars’ worth of clothes and a $324,000 a year salary?” said Bloc Quebecois MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC). “I think you can afford clothes.”The Conservatives said in a submission to the CGOC Rideau Hall spending was unjustifiable. “This type of lavish spending erodes the trust of Canadians in the Office of the Governor General,” said the Conservatives. Conservative MP Kelly Block (Carlton Trail-Eagle Creek, SK) said Simon “has shown a lack of respect for taxpayers — the Canadians she is meant to represent.”“The job for which she has been tasked has become a means to expense an extravagant lifestyle,” said Block.
