Information uncovered by MP Michelle Rempel (CPC-Nose Hill) shows the federal government spent $450,000 per person supporting its draconian hotel quarantine program..In a note, Rempel says, “In fiscal year 2022, long after the rest of the world had ended quarantine hotel restrictions and after the government lifted travel restrictions, at one Calgary area hotel, the federal Liberal government spent $6,790,717.46 on lodging expenses for….…..wait for it….15 people.”.“That works out to $452,714.50 spent per person on a quarantine hotel after they ended most travel restrictions.”.Rempel requested the information by submitting an ‘order paper question’ to the government before Parliament's winter recess..“They’re a good tool for an opposition Member of Parliament like me to get more details on public expenditures and policies,” says Rempel..She says she fought the hotel quarantine program, “particularly after there were allegations of sexual assault at some of the facilities, after there was no scientific evidence offered by the government that showed the program halted the spread of COVID better than home quarantine, and after the government's own expert panel recommended lifting travel restrictions in May 2021.”.“But since the Trudeau government kept these restrictions for nearly a year after the release of this report, on a hunch, I submitted an order paper question to see how much the federal Liberals had spent on two quarantine hotel sites I knew had been in operation in Calgary.”.Adding to the bureaucratic bungling, the response to her order paper question states the government could cancel the contract after giving 30-days notice, “but only elected to do so sometime in late fall 2022, again, long after travel restrictions had been eased,” says Rempel.It raises important questions, says Rempel..“Why was this contract maintained after travel restrictions had been lifted? How did no one catch that this was happening? And this is just one quarantine hotel facility. How many more stories like this are there across the country?”.Rempel’s request read, in part: “With regard to government contracts with the Westin Calgary Airport hotel and the Acclaim Calgary airport hotel for the provision of quarantine facilities and accommodations during the COVID-19 pandemic, broken down by location: (a) on what dates were the contracts for each site signed; (b) what was the end date for each contract; (c) how much has the federal government paid to date for all services provided by these sites, broken down by site, type of cost (meals, security, etc.) and total cost per year; (d) what are the details of any other costs associated with the provision of these quarantine facilities and accommodations at these sites, including, for each, the (i) vendor, (ii) amount paid by the government, (iii) description of goods or services.”.The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) response:.“(a) The Westin Calgary Airport hotel was provided with a notice of designation as a quarantine facility under Section 7 of the Quarantine Act on June 22, 2020..The Acclaim Calgary Airport hotel was not a designated quarantine facility (DQF) but was a participant in the Government Authorized Accommodations (GAA) program. Under this program, hotels were authorized by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to receive travellers entering Canada via air between Feb. 21, 2021, and Aug. 9, 2021. This allowed travellers to meet the mandatory three-night stay as they awaited their Day 1 test results. .PHAC did not pay the Acclaim Calgary Airport hotel or other hotels for the delivery of the GAA program, as travellers booked and paid their stay directly with the GAA hotels..PHAC did not hold contracts with GAA hotels, travellers booked and paid for their stay directly with the GAA hotels. The Acclaim Calgary Airport hotel became a GAA hotel on February 12, 2021..(b) The cancellation of the designation order under Section 7 of the Quarantine Act for the Westin Calgary Airport hotel was effective Oct. 30, 2022. No compensation was paid to the hotel after the date the designation was cancelled, however the hotel was given 30 days notice prior to the cancellation. .(c) The federal government paid the following total expenditures to the Westin Calgary Airport hotel for lodging and meals: (FY = fiscal year).FY 2020/21: - $8,920,071.72 .FY 2021/22: - $11,134,287.56.FY 2022/23: - $6,790,717.46.To note, given this response required a manual collection of information, it's possible there is a small degree of human error when determining the amount the federal government paid to the Westin Calgary Airport hotel..(d) The details of the other costs associated with the Westin Calgary Airport hotel when it was a DQF is as follows:.Total Amount Paid by the Government Description of Goods and Services:.• Canadian Corps of Commissionaires $1,759,079.93 Security service.• Aaron Paramedical $41,383.22 Transportation service.• Fenton Bus Services $4,600.00 Transportation service.• Canadian Red Cross $1,487,200.23 Traveller support services.• Winmar $1,139,069.47 Cleaning services..“Government waste is always a problem,” Rempel said..“But waste of this magnitude when deficit spending needs to be reined in due to inflationary pressures shows Trudeau doesn't have the capacity or willingness to get things under control. The $450,000 per person could have bought outright a really nice condo in the neighborhoods surrounding that hotel's location. Many folks in my community would have loved to have won that lottery.”
