CALGARY — The chief executive of Crown lender Farm Credit Canada (FCC) billed taxpayers more than $182,000 in expenses last year — nearly four times the amount claimed by her predecessor — while simultaneously urging employees to cut travel costs and “tighten the belt.”According to records obtained through Access to Information and first reported by Blacklock's Reporter, FCC CEO Justine Hendricks expensed $182,297 in 2025, including business-class international flights, luxury hotel stays, steakhouse meals and a $543 Uber ride between Edmonton and Calgary.Internal documents show Hendricks’ predecessor claimed $47,129 in expenses during his final year as CEO.“The audit committee has accountability to ensure management has appropriate processes in place to review certain expenses incurred by the CEO,” stated a briefing note.Staff also reminded management that leaders are responsible for ensuring expenses are necessary, cost-effective and capable of withstanding public scrutiny.“Leaders are accountable for verifying before they approve or pre-approve expenses that requested travel, meetings, events and hospitality are necessary and they are cost effective, support FCC’s mandate, objectives or priorities and can withstand public, media or stakeholder scrutiny,” staff wrote in an internal email..Hendricks was appointed CEO on Jan. 30, 2023 despite having no agricultural background. Prior to joining FCC, she worked as a sustainability officer at Export Development Canada. Although FCC is headquartered in Regina, records indicate Hendricks continued residing in the Kanata area.During her first month on the job alone, Hendricks billed $13,345 in expenses, including business-class flights to Regina, Edmonton and Toronto, along with accommodations at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel costing $402 per night.Additional hotel expenses included stays at the Montréal Sheraton at $434 per night, the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront at $474 per night, the Fairmont Banff Springs at $583 per night and a Toronto Residence Inn charging $700 per night.Records show Hendricks accumulated more than $422,700 in expenses during her first three years as CEO.The spending occurred even as she repeatedly instructed staff to reduce travel costs.“As you know, the sensitivity is always travel-related expenses,” Hendricks told employees during a 2025 staff videoconference.When asked whether the organization would continue reducing travel, Hendricks referenced an existing directive requiring lower travel spending across FCC.“There’s a budget to manage, okay?” she told another staff meeting on Oct. 16, 2025..“We really wanted those travel dollars to maximize engagement with customers first. Let me tell you, for the girl who signs off on these things like that, one of the first things I realized on the job, all of the expenses for this come up to me.”“It’s the choice you guys have to make in terms of when you have your budget, how you want to allocate,” she added. “You have got to tighten the belt on this stuff.”Expense records show Hendricks billed business-class flights to Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Madrid and Singapore. While in Regina, she repeatedly expensed Filet Mignon dinners at a local steakhouse and claimed an unexplained $67 bar charge described as “olives and popcorn.”One of the most unusual expenses occurred on April 30, 2025, when Hendricks used Uber for a 309-kilometre trip from Edmonton to Calgary. The three-and-a-half-hour ride cost $543, including a $109 “out of region” surcharge.Internal correspondence also raised questions about a separate incident involving a company rental vehicle.“Could you please explain?” one employee wrote regarding a 2025 trip to Kitchener, Ontario “If she kept the rental car for her personal use, then shouldn’t the charges be deducted from the total?”FCC did not provide an explanation for the expense claims. Hendricks did not respond to questions regarding the records.
