Taxpayers have been paying for governors general to reduce the commute times to their secondary homes, according to flight records obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). .“This is another prime example of the outrageous perks that governors general are milking taxpayers with,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano in a Friday blog post. .“Leadership starts at the top and that means respecting taxpayer’s hard-earned money must start with the governor general.”.Logs for the Canadian military’s Challenger jets obtained by the CTF reveal flights taken by former governors general Julie Payette and David Johnston. Payette’s full flight record was released, and they cover Johnston’s flights during his final years in power. .Many of the flights Payette and Johnston took were connected to their ceremonial duties, but a handful of them passed through airports where they have additional homes. These flights would start or end their trips at these airports before the Challenger went to Ottawa. .The blog post said Payette has a cottage in Mirabel, QC, and Johnston owns an estate near Mont-Tremblant, QC. .The blog post went on to say taxpayers spent $96,448 to enable the governors general and their fellow travellers to go to airports near their secondary residences by the end of Payette’s term. The calculations were made through the current cost per flight hour for the Challenger. .Rideau Hall said the locations were “deemed necessary” for travel..Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) deflected questions. .“The Canadian Armed Forces provides transportation services for the Governor General’s official activities by air, within Canada, and during state visits abroad,” said the DND. .“For operational reasons, the Governor General can be picked up and dropped off at any location deemed necessary in order to conduct travel for official purposes, as per long standing government policy and practice.”.Terrazzano said if Rideau Hall believes these matters are official business and should allow taxpayers to be charged, they “better explain why we’re on the hook for these expenses.” .“Taxpayers shouldn’t be paying close to six figures for flights that should be paid out of pocket,” he said. .These findings come after it was revealed in July Governor General Mary Simon and 45 passengers and crew charged $80,367 for meals on a flight to the United Arab Emirates. .READ MORE: Governor general responsible for $80,000 flight costs.Rideau Hall was found to be responsible for the charges run up by Simon. Her staff attempted to blame the military for meal expenses. .“Final costs are determined by the selection of the flight menu which is approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs in concert with the trip requestor as required,” said the DND.
