Canadian taxpayers were left footing a hefty bill after two Montreal conferences in 2024 racked up more than $1 million in costs, with spending ranging from pricey hotel rooms to musical spoons and circus performers.The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), which reviewed federal expense records, said the sky-high tab shows Ottawa has abandoned any sense of restraint when hosting political gatherings.“You know the government is spending way too much money when it could have taken everyone out for lunch at the Keg, ordered the most expensive meal on the menu and still saved taxpayers money,” said CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano. “It seems like every time the government hosts a conference, it goes out of its way to spend taxpayers’ money as extravagantly as possible.”Both events were hosted by Parliament and approved by the Senate internal economy committee and the House of Commons internal economy board..The biggest bill came from the 49th Annual Session of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie, held July 5 to 8, 2024, which cost $631,500. That included a pre-event site visit and the conference itself.Accommodation for Canadian participants and staff hit $156,000, while transportation cost another $87,000. Eighteen staff spent more than $3,000 each on hotel rooms that averaged $750 per night.Per diems added $20,500, and “hospitality” alone cost $357,000.The hospitality tab featured $14,250 for artistic performances at a cultural dinner and $1,340 for musical spoons. The catered dinner from Las Olas Catering — which describes itself as the “creator of gourmet emotions” — added another $79,300.Lunches and breaks for 475 delegates cost $198,000. The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel catered the meals, charging around $60 per person, even though a 12 oz New York striploin at the Keg across the street costs just $51..Ottawa also spent $29,000 on dinner buffets and lunch boxes for 85 people — about $341 per person.“Why is the government spending a thousand dollars on musical spoons for a dinner show, when it could have just grabbed a couple spoons off the tables?” said Terrazzano. “The government needs to stop looking for ways to blow taxpayers’ money.”The price tag didn’t stop there.The 70th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, held Nov. 22 to 25, 2024, cost another $405,400.Bureaucrats had already started charging expenses months earlier for an “observation mission” to a NATO meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria, as well as a Montreal site visit.For the conference itself, Ottawa spent $54,000 on transportation for Canadian delegates, $63,400 on accommodations and $21,400 on per diems. The opening ceremony cost $2,800, while flower arrangements rang in at $915.Hospitality for 577 participants cost $253,400, including $10,850 for scarves placed in delegate bags and $2,546 for lapel pins..The federal government spent $36,000 on “health breaks” — catered meals from Montreal seafood restaurant Maestro — and another $26,000 on a Maestro luncheon. The restaurant’s average cost per person is about $100.Dinners totaled $134,000, including a $94,900 reception that added an $11,900 cultural performance by contemporary circus troupe Cirque Éloize.The Speaker’s office confirmed to the CTF that visiting delegates and their parliaments will not be reimbursing any of these costs.“As a leading member of both parliamentary associations, the Parliament of Canada is expected to occasionally host an annual session,” the office said, adding that member parliaments are responsible only for funding their delegates’ travel and accommodations, not for covering the price of Ottawa’s hospitality.
