Governor General Mary Simon spent over $800,000 on a four-day trip to a German book fair, including two photographers. The Bloc Québécois forced Rideau Hall to release all the travel expenses after Simon concealed a $1.15 million trip in 2022 to Dubai.. Ritz Carlton Hotel .“Culture and literature have helped to sustain us through these challenging times,” Simon said on her Oct. 18, 2021, trip to the Frankfurt Book Fair..“Many people have discovered and found comfort and connection in a new world of words.”.Simon travelled with 32 guests, including her husband, the Parliamentary Poet Laureate, three press aides, two official photographers, and two Department of National Defence medical staff. Cabinet in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons claimed the junket was a needed boost for Canadian authors..“At The Frankfurt Book Fair, Canada showcased its publishing industry and the immense contribution of our authors and artists on the world stage,” said the Inquiry..“Canada was able to promote the sale of Canadian titles at a time when the arts and literature sector was particularly hard hit during the pandemic.”.The Guest of Honour at that book fair was Canada. Slovenia is this Guest of Honour this year..Expenses for the trip totalled $801,418, including accommodation at the five-star Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof Hotel and Ritz-Carlton in Berlin, home of a champagne brunch and six-course menu with wine at $200 per person..According to Blacklock’s Reporter, other costs included $19,794 for a Frankfurt Book Fair banquet where 77 people dined, including “prominent Frankfurt Book Fair attendees,” said the Inquiry. Guests were not named.. BerlinBerlin .During the state visit, the governor general made three brief speeches..“Our story is not just about ‘him’ or ‘her,’” Simon told Book Fair delegates..“It’s also about ‘they’ and ‘them.’ It is open to all ways of seeing, to every means of expression.”.“It is inclusive to every way of ‘being’ because every voice matters,” said Simon..“Every perspective adds to our plurality. And every addition sharpens our singular vision.”.Travel costs were disclosed at the request of Bloc MP Julie Vignola (Beauport-Limoilou, QC), a Commons Government Operations committee member. It followed the committee’s discovery last year that Rideau Hall systematically concealed travel expenses from taxpayers..“People all across Québec and Canada have to tighten their belts and spend $150 or $200 for two small bags of groceries that are barely enough to feed a family,” Vignola told a hearing last July 25..“I find this excessive.”
