Another day, another invoice from the Rideau Hall gift shop. This time, it’s not lemons for the gin and tonics or Beef Wellington at 30,000 feet. This time, it’s the shoes.Governor General Mary Simon’s office has billed you, the taxpayer, a cool $1,117 for a several pair of shoes. That’s not a misprint. For the price of Her Excellency’s footwear, a hard-working family could buy groceries for a month. A senior could cover their heating bill for the winter. But in the rarefied air of the viceregal suite, it’s just another line item..EDITORIAL: Alberta’s bold stand: Citizenship markers on provincial IDs and the defence of provincial rights .This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s a pattern of behaviour. According to documents dug up by Blacklock's Reporter, Simon’s wardrobe allowance last year totalled $7,484. That sum bought an $875 blazer, a $675 wool jacket, and even a $165 silk camisole — all, we are told, essential for “official events.” One wonders what kind of official event requires a silk camisole. A pillow fight at the United Nations?This frivolity would be galling at any time. It is downright offensive now. Canadians are staring down the barrel of a cost-of-living crisis. Mortgage payments are soaring. The price of ground beef and a jug of milk is a weekly shock. Yet, while ordinary folks are cutting coupons and delaying retirement, the official representative of the Crown is accessorizing on the public dime..Let’s put that $1,117 in perspective. The Heritage Minister, whose job actually involves going places, bought a pair of work boots for $161. The Housing Minister, presumably visiting construction sites, spent $298 on his pair. Their purchases were tools for the job. Simon’s shoe purchases are a luxury. It reeks of an out-of-touch elite that sees the treasury as its personal expense account.This is the same office that once billed us for hundreds of dollars in limes and lemons. The same office that took a $1.17 million trip to Dubai, complete with $93,000 for inflight catering. They first claimed it was “standard airline fare.” It turned out to be salmon, gourmet cakes, and fine wines. There is a congenital inability to tell the truth about spending. The instinct is always to obfuscate, to minimize, and to carry on as if no one will notice..EDITORIAL: Afraid to speak: Canada’s quiet majority is biting its tongue.And why wouldn’t they? The consequences are nil. Conservative MP John Brassard has done yeoman’s work forcing these expenses into the light. A 2023 report from the government operations committee called Simon’s spending “egregious” and “unacceptable.” But the cheques still clear. The credit card statements still get paid. The shoes still get bought.Even the Bloc Québécois, which wants to abolish the office, gets it right sometimes. They call the post an “honorary and colonialist position” that drains public funds. They aren’t wrong. The institution is a relic. But until it is abolished, the least its occupant could do is show some modesty. Some respect..The role of the Governor General is to represent all Canadians. There is nothing representative about spending over $1,100 on shoes. It represents a profound disconnect from the people who are forced to pay for it. It is a symbol of a ruling class that lives by one set of rules while everyone else lives by another.True leadership is about service, not self-service. It’s about understanding that every dollar spent comes from a citizen who worked for it. It’s about setting an example of frugality, especially when times are tough.Instead, we get silk camisoles and four-figure footwear. The message from Rideau Hall is let them eat cake and make sure it’s gourmet.
