QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Prime Minister's Travel
April 18, 2023
Honourable senators, this morning, Radio-Canada’s website had a headline about the Trudeau family vacationing with wealthy Trudeau Foundation donors.
This time, it wasn’t on the Aga Khan’s island, in London or Tofino; it was in Jamaica. Canadian citizens paid more than $160,000 of taxpayers’ money to provide security and other things that are required for the Trudeau family’s trip. Moreover, these costs don’t include the Challenger, which costs taxpayers a minimum of $10,000 per hour.
I checked Expedia’s website, and there are 5,105 hotels in Jamaica. Why did the Prime Minister choose the one owned by a wealthy contributor to the Trudeau Foundation?
First of all, I’m quite surprised that you would quote from an article from the CBC, which your leader claims is the Trudeau government’s propaganda arm. However, one of the things I like about being a senator is that I’m always learning new things. It’s to your credit, colleague, that you have quoted this propaganda arm.
Let’s be serious. The Prime Minister has the right to take a vacation with his family, and he also needs security to protect them. This applies to any prime minister, regardless of the party he or she represents.
The need to use a government aircraft is a long-standing practice for prime ministers in order to ensure their safety.
Finally, I’m pleased to follow your lead and also quote the CBC. A former colleague of Prime Minister Harper’s, Dimitri Soudas, once said that the Prime Minister is a father, he has a family, and it’s okay to take a vacation with his family.
Leader, can you tell the Prime Minister that if he wants a vacation, he just has to call an election, and we’ll give him a vacation?
Did the Prime Minister have a view of the sea? How much did he pay for the rooms in the villas where his family stayed? Yes, we all have the right to take a vacation. As you can see from my tan, I took a vacation and I paid for it. Did the Prime Minister pay for his vacation and the villas in which he stayed with the Green family?
I don’t have that information. I’ll try to find it and get back to you later with an answer. The Green family have been friends with the Trudeau family for a very long time, going back to the late Pierre Elliott Trudeau. I’ll look into it further with the government.
