When does necessary spending shift to wasteful spending, then spiral into unacceptably selfish decadence?.Every time Governor General Mary Simon goes on a trip..That extravagant woman and her indulgent “battalion of bureaucrats” are testing the loyalty of hard-working Canadians who respect the office — and fuelling the contempt of Canadians who don’t.. Mary SimonGovernor General Mary Simon .Simon serves as a representative of King Charles III in Canada..She seems to have Canadians confused with subjects who are there to serve her by footing the bill for the lavish pleasure of her and her pals — on obscenely costly trips since she was appointed in 2021..How can anyone with a hint of a conscience feed so callously at a trough that's filled by hard-working Canadians taxpayers struggling to pay gas and grocery bills?.During Simon’s four-day trip to Iceland last fall, taxpayers got nailed with a $71,000 bill for an “Icelimo Luxury Travel” expense..Simon visited Iceland from Oct. 12 to 15, 2022 to participate in the Arctic Circle Assembly, an annual event held at the Harpa Conference Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland's capital city..The trip cost taxpayers at least $298,000, according to documents and receipts obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) through an Access to Information request..The entourage could have opted for thriftier transportation. But no, it had to be the best to ferry them to the conference hall from the Hotel Borg where accommodation, refreshments and a reception cost taxpayers $115,000..“The whole bill is absurd. But there’s two other parts to this. The hotel she was staying at was an eight-minute walk from the main conference centre,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF federal director..“She was travelling with her director of communications and manager of strategic communications. Not one of them said, ‘Hey boss, this is probably bad for optics.’ ”. Icelimo 2Icelimo caters to those of cultivated tastes. .Simon was there to give a 15-minute speech and addressed “priority” issues according to the website, such as international co-operation, gender equality, youth engagement, and the revitalization of indigenous knowledge, cultures and languages. Then she participated in a panel discussion on Gender Equality and Diversity in Arctic Leadership..It is unclear what bang taxpayers get for their big bucks..“The governor general spent more on fancy rides in four days than the average Canadian makes in a whole year,” said Terrazzano. “We’re not saying the governor-general should be hitchhiking, but surely she could have gotten around a small island for less than the price of a brand-new BMW.”.Simon was accompanied by her husband, secretary, director of communications, strategic communications manager, two “aides-de-camp” and her official photographer..A review of the receipts showed that someone charged taxpayers for a beef steak bourguignon with mashed potatoes, costing $602. That followed with a dessert of mousse with crumble and strawberry sauce, costing $238. That’s disgusting..“It seems like Simon and her battalion of bureaucrats go out of their way to find the most expensive options,” said Terrazzano..On another occasion, it cost taxpayers $90,615 for Simon to visit her home in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que (Fort Severight) for one day..Simon took a four-day trip with her husband and 31 other people to a German book fair in 2021. That cost taxpayers around $800,000..In March 2022, Simon trotted off to the Middle East for a week, which cost taxpayers approximately $1.3 million..Receipts showed that the entourage ate beef Wellington and apple-stuffed pork tenderloin, entrees only served at fine restaurants..In December 2022 when Simon faced a backlash for her Middle East trip expenditures, Canada's chief of protocol Stewart Wheeler told MPs that pricetag was “similar” to costs of other high-level visits..“That’s the problem. It’s the rule it’s not the exception,” said Terrazzano..“It’s not just Simon. We’ve seen wasteful spending from Rideau Hall and the office of the governor general going on for a long time spanning multiple governors general.”.They are accountable to no one. “The prime minister needs to step in here and set some clear rules on much they can spend, and on how many people they can bring.”.But why is an intervention even needed?.Canadians have been struggling for some time. Simon needs to tap into some common sense, empathy, and find humility..Perhaps she should have a chat with former prime minister Stephen Harper..Western Standard Opinion Editor Nigel Hannaford managed Harper's speechwriting department for six years..He recalled how Harper, who has a chef at his disposal at 24, Sussex Drive, would nevertheless often buy his own lunch.."I'd be there at mid-day talking about a speech and he'd reach into his wallet, pull out a twenty and ask his executive assistant to go grab him lunch at the food fair at Ottawa's World Exchange Plaza.".Apparently it was often a burger and fries. The assistant would return with lunch and hand Harper the change. .Now that’s a special kind of respect for Canadian taxpayers!."Harper was like that," said Hannaford. "The RCMP have armoured sedans to carry senior government officials. Some were based on a Chevrolet chassis, some were Cadillacs. Harper didn't care. He just got in and went were he was going."."I wouldn't call him humble exactly, but he had a keen sense that every dollar the government spent came out of the pockets of 'hard-working Canadians who paid their taxes and played by the rules.' That was his line and everybody had it drummed into them. As for him, he walked his talk.".No one begrudges Simon comfort and safety..“High-ranking public officials are by definition expensive to look after,” said Hannaford. “It's not just dignity: You can't put them in hotels that don't have good access or certain security features for example. You can't use the motel strip, even if everybody is ever so humble. And when it comes to ground transportation, you don't call a cab, you do use a limo.”.“So, it's never cheap when the vice-regal representative travels because it can't be. People need to give a little grace for that. Often the people arranging the tour don't even have a lot of choice, by the time the security people and the host countries have finished with them. ”.“On the other hand, there's a responsibility by the people staffing the governor general to remember whose money they're spending.”.He pointed to the luxury limo tab..“I doubt that was mandated by security. But seventy thousand dollars is the amount of federal income tax that would have been paid by eight Canadians earning the median national average wage of $68,000. They need to think about that. Harper's people used to.”.Meanwhile, the reckless spending of Simon and her battalion of bureaucrats will remain under the watchful eye of the CTF..“We’re going to continue to put out Access to Information requests for all of her trips. That’s just policy now,” said Terrazzano..“Every time we see that she’s travelling anywhere we just file a tonne of Access to Information requests. So, keep the receipts.”
