https://nationalpost.com/news/airplane-food-220k-justin-trudeau-trip
Airplane food cost more than $220K on Trudeau's Indo-Pacific trip
Meals included beef brisket with mashed parsley potatoes with truffle oil, braised lamb shanks and baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle
Author of the article: National Post Staff
Published Jun 18, 2024
New records show that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s six-day Indo-Pacific trip in September 2023 had a catering bill of more than $223,000.
The trip, in which Trudeau met with business leaders in Singapore and the president of Indonesia as well as attending the G20 summit in India, cost nearly $2 million.
The catering costs had previously been pegged closer to $180K but a response to an order paper question in the House of Commons reveals the final tally was $223,234.
The total cost of the trip could still rise as some records continue to be processed.
The number of passengers travelling with Trudeau on a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris ranged from 37 to 72 across various stages of the trip, with one notable segment of travel notching a catering bill of $85,000 alone.
Meals on-board the plane included beef brisket with mashed parsley potatoes with truffle oil, pan fried beef tenderloin with port wine sauce, braised lamb shanks with steamed broccoli and boiled baby potatoes, and baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle.
In a statement to National Post, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano drew parallels to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s infamous March 2022 trip to Dubai, where she and her 29 guests incurred a $100,000 inflight catering bill over the course of a week.
“It might be tough to connect with the middle class while chowing down on lamb shanks served on fine China and billing taxpayers for it,” said Terrazzano. “You shouldn’t need a focus group to recommend telling the prime minister to turn down the baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle when Canadians are lining up around the block at the foodbank.”
A special request was also made to stock the plane with Flow Water, a brand of premium alkaline spring water. According to the CTF the product is a Trudeau favourite that has shown up in his personal grocery expenses.
Following the outrage that accompanied Simon’s bill in 2022, a parliamentary committee grilled bureaucrats about the significant expenses.
“We recognize that the system that we had in place was not delivering the kind of oversight and control that Canadian taxpayers deserve,” said Stewart Wheeler, who was then Canada’s chief of protocol. “Certainly, drink garnishes will be eliminated from service.”
“Is the government running a secret contest to see who can order up the most expensive meals while flying around the world?” Terrazzano said. “Someone should let the prime minister know the government promised to cut down on fancy airplane food because Trudeau doubled Simon’s outrageous tab.”
Airplane food cost more than $220K on Trudeau's Indo-Pacific trip
Meals included beef brisket with mashed parsley potatoes with truffle oil, braised lamb shanks and baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle
Author of the article: National Post Staff
Published Jun 18, 2024
New records show that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s six-day Indo-Pacific trip in September 2023 had a catering bill of more than $223,000.
The trip, in which Trudeau met with business leaders in Singapore and the president of Indonesia as well as attending the G20 summit in India, cost nearly $2 million.
The catering costs had previously been pegged closer to $180K but a response to an order paper question in the House of Commons reveals the final tally was $223,234.
The total cost of the trip could still rise as some records continue to be processed.
The number of passengers travelling with Trudeau on a Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 Polaris ranged from 37 to 72 across various stages of the trip, with one notable segment of travel notching a catering bill of $85,000 alone.
Meals on-board the plane included beef brisket with mashed parsley potatoes with truffle oil, pan fried beef tenderloin with port wine sauce, braised lamb shanks with steamed broccoli and boiled baby potatoes, and baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle.
In a statement to National Post, Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano drew parallels to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon’s infamous March 2022 trip to Dubai, where she and her 29 guests incurred a $100,000 inflight catering bill over the course of a week.
“It might be tough to connect with the middle class while chowing down on lamb shanks served on fine China and billing taxpayers for it,” said Terrazzano. “You shouldn’t need a focus group to recommend telling the prime minister to turn down the baked cheesecake with pistachio brittle when Canadians are lining up around the block at the foodbank.”
A special request was also made to stock the plane with Flow Water, a brand of premium alkaline spring water. According to the CTF the product is a Trudeau favourite that has shown up in his personal grocery expenses.
Following the outrage that accompanied Simon’s bill in 2022, a parliamentary committee grilled bureaucrats about the significant expenses.
“We recognize that the system that we had in place was not delivering the kind of oversight and control that Canadian taxpayers deserve,” said Stewart Wheeler, who was then Canada’s chief of protocol. “Certainly, drink garnishes will be eliminated from service.”
“Is the government running a secret contest to see who can order up the most expensive meals while flying around the world?” Terrazzano said. “Someone should let the prime minister know the government promised to cut down on fancy airplane food because Trudeau doubled Simon’s outrageous tab.”
