OTTAWA — DVDs purchased at Sam the Record Man, $812 spent on snacks and a $71,000 menu featuring veal picatta, beef stroganoff and Swiss chocolate cheesecake served in-flight.
Those were the highlights of the prime minister’s four-day trip to Switzerland and Italy last summer, a trip that recently-released documents reveal to have cost at least $918,000.
“The daily per person food bill for Trudeau and his entourage on this trip was more than the average Canadian family spends on groceries in a month,” said Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who uncovered the numbers via an access to information request.
The trip began with a visit to the last remaining Sam the Record Man at the Quinte Mall in Belleville, about a 20 minute drive from CFB Trenton.
There, RCAF personnel purchased $102.81 worth of DVDs, including the 2004 Paul Haggis film Crash, the first season of the 2022 Addams Family spin-off series Wednesday, the 2024 comic book film Madame Web, and the 1985 thriller Witness — the Oscar-winning Harrison Ford film.
That was followed by an $812.56 shopping trip to the Belleville No Frills to purchase soft drinks, bottled water, Excel gum and chocolate bars.
Aside from the PM, passengers onboard CANFORCE ONE varied by leg but largely included PMO advisor Ben Chin, Chief of Staff Katie Telford, Deputy Chief of Staff Brian Clow, Media Relations Head Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, official photographer Adam Scotti, official videographer Akshay Grover, two separate creative content coordinators, 17 members of the Privy Council Office, a small delegation from Global Affairs Canada, and members of the media, whose names were redacted from the documents.
Food costs for the four-day trip came to $71,000, with at least $43,000 spent on in-flight meals.
On average, that’s about $145 per meal.
“It would have been cheaper for each member of the prime minister’s delegation to go to the Keg, order a prime rib steak, a Caesar salad, baked garlic shrimp and a bottle of pinot noir for every meal,” Terrazzano said.
Costs for the trip may be higher, as the ATIP documents don’t include receipts from Global Affairs Canada.
The entourage departed Ottawa June 13 to attend the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy, as well as a one-day trip to the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Lucerne, Switzerland.
Fare served aboard CANFORCE ONE for the trip varied.
For the morning flight from Ottawa to Italy, passengers had a choice between scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and bacon, or waffles with a berry compote and turkey sausage.
For dinner, passengers had a choice between cheese ravioli and rose sauce, or baked cod in lemon garlic butter.
While the plane was restocked at Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy, passengers were given a choice between grilled chicken with lemon capers with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots, or lamb ribs with mustard sauce, pilaf rice and sauteed spinach.
Passengers had a choice of four wines — an Ontario 2021 Chardonnay, a 2015 BC Riesling, Henry of Pelham Estates Ontario Baco Noir 2018, or a 2021 Mission Hill Reserve Merlot from BC.
Returning home from Zurich, passengers chose between beef stroganoff or veal piccata Milanese, with Swiss chocolate cake for dessert.
Among the cost-cutting measures promised after the Governor General’s infamous $1.3 million 2022 Dubai trip that ran up $100,000 in-flight meal charges was an end to such frills as in-flight flower arrangements, expensive drink garnishes and meal choices for those in the main cabin.
Expenses from that trip included $230 flower arrangements, nearly $1,000 in boxed water, $110 for four litres of apple juice, $526 for a redacted quantity of lemons and limes, and $552 for a redacted amount of ice — with beef wellington, apple-stuffed tenderloin and chicken scallopini.
Conservative Ethics Critic Michael Barrett told the Sun that such extravagance is unnecessary in international diplomacy, but said the PM just can’t seem to help himself.
“Once again, Trudeau has been caught living it up while Canadians can barely afford to pay down their mortgages and rent or put food on the table. In just four days, Trudeau and his greedy team each spent more on wining and dining themselves than the average family spends on groceries in an entire month,” he said.
“Canadians will spend $800 more to feed their families next year, food bank use has hit record highs, and a quarter of the kids in this country are going hungry. It is disgusting and grossly out of touch for Justin Trudeau and his entourage to be caught splurging on airport shopping sprees and dining like royalty on luxurious flights to Europe and then stick struggling Canadians with the bill.”
“This type of extravagance is totally unnecessary to do the work and engage in diplomacy, but clearly, Trudeau can’t help himself. Trudeau is not worth the high flying, high carbon hypocrisy.”-30-
“I like Sydney Sweeney as much as the next guy, but maybe Trudeau could do some actual work or download a movie on Netflix the next time he flies, instead of billing taxpayers for a DVD copy of Madame Web,” Terrazzano said.
“While he’s at it, maybe Trudeau could forgo the Swiss chocolate cake while Canadians back home are lining up at food banks in record numbers.”
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