QUESTION PERIOD — Foreign Affairs
Cost of Delegation to the Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
November 1, 2022
Government leader, it has been just over a week since we learned of the extravagant hotel bill that Canadians will be footing for Canada’s delegation to the Queen’s funeral, which included a charge of a $6,000-per-night room at London’s Corinthia Hotel for five nights.
Senator Gold, I remind you that it was the current Prime Minister who promised Canadians transparency and accountability. Yet, on this expense, he remains tight-lipped about who stayed in the premium room. Now, if he is not ashamed of who stayed there, why won’t he tell us who it is? We now know definitely that it was not the Governor General as per a statement released by her office last week.
It is bad enough, Senator Gold, that Canadians are on the hook for this luxury invoice. By the looks of it, the only way to get to the bottom of this expense would be for someone to hire a private investigator.
Leader, will you give Canadians the transparency that they were promised by telling this chamber who stayed in that hotel room?
Thank you for the question. As I have mentioned on other occasions, and as we know from reports, the official Canadian delegation was a large one, as would be expected of Canada as a leading member of the Commonwealth. All members of the delegation, including two Conservative prime ministers, stayed at the same hotel, which was a hotel that was able to accommodate the size of the delegation during a period of extremely high demand, as senators would appreciate.
As always, this government made every effort to ensure that the spending on official trips is responsible and transparent.
Senator Gold, are you suggesting that one of these former Conservative prime ministers stayed in that room? That’s who you’re talking about. We understand there was a large delegation. They didn’t all stay in that room. This wasn’t a party room. The whole delegation didn’t stay there, although they should have. For $6,000 a night, the whole delegation should have stayed there.
Leader, I doubt that this is what Canadians expected when it comes to accountability and transparency. Your government’s claim to this expense as being appropriate and transparent — and, indeed, your claim to that — is appalling and shocking.
Senator Gold, since your government feels comfortable in its choices being appropriate, and if you are not ashamed of what your government has done, you should have no problem about being transparent and telling us who stayed in that room. I’m quite happy to ask former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper if he stayed in that room. I have a pretty good idea he is not going to tell me about how big the delegation was. He is going to tell me what room he stayed in.
What room did the Prime Minister stay in? Which room was the Prime Minister in at this hotel?
Thank you for your supplementary question and for the diligence with which you are pursuing this issue. I don’t have the answer to your question, and I’m sorry that I cannot satisfy you. I’m sorry that you are shocked, but that is the answer that I am able to provide.
