Prime Minister Mark Carney’s two-day cabinet meeting at a luxury Toronto hotel cost taxpayers more than $532,000, according to records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation — outspending similar retreats held by former prime minister Justin Trudeau.“If you’re spending thousands of dollars more than Trudeau on meetings, you’re spending too much money,” said Franco Terrazzano, the CTF’s federal director. “It’s going to be hard for politicians to explain to taxpayers why all of the meeting rooms in Ottawa weren’t good enough.”The September cabinet meeting was held at the Pan Pacific Toronto, which advertises itself as a “luxury hotel.” The Privy Council Office spent $250,400 on the venue and hospitality, $78,700 on audiovisual services, $40,000 on security and $8,073 on shipping. Another $38,300 went toward accommodation, meals and transportation.The PCO acknowledged the final bill will likely grow because some invoices and travel claims had not yet been processed as of Sept. 23..The RCMP spent $29,000 on the event, based on costs tallied up to Sept. 17. The Translation Bureau billed $30,600 for travel, travel time and interpretation. Other departments spent a combined $57,400, mostly for transportation, though some ministers billed taxpayers for their own meals and accommodation, along with their staff.Carney’s meeting cost more than Trudeau’s recent cabinet retreats. Trudeau’s 2023 gathering in Charlottetown cost taxpayers $485,196, roughly $26,000 less than Carney’s after adjusting for inflation. A 2022 cabinet meeting in Vancouver came in at $471,070 — about $25,000 less than Carney’s after inflation.“Carney told Canadians he was going to cut waste and he should start by not dropping half a million bucks on meetings,” Terrazzano said. “We need a culture change in Ottawa and that needs to start with the prime minister and ministers respecting taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”
