The Canadian government spent nearly $400,000 on hotel rooms for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Canada’s Delegation to Funeral on September 19 It included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Governor-General Mary Simon, former Prime Minister Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper, Olympian Mark Tewksbury and actor Sandra Oh. .
The Canadian government has not disclosed who stayed. $6,000 Suite It includes butler service and a view of the Thames, according to the hotel’s website.
CTVNews.ca made multiple attempts to contact Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office, but did not receive a response by the time of publication. A spokesperson for Governor Mary Simon told CTVNews.ca that she did not stay in the River Suite at London’s Corinthia Hotel.
Hotel costs were obtained through access to a request for information filed with Global Affairs Canada, Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They show that a total of $356,981.70 was spent at Corinthia London hotels from September 11-20. The price for the river view suite was $6,089.16 or £4,800 per night. The suite was used for 5 nights.
The federal government also spent a much smaller sum of $40,861.11 to place others in the more modest Hamptons by Hilton near London’s Stansted Airport, about an hour’s drive from central London. spent.
According to Global Affairs Canada, the total cost of accommodation for the Canadian delegation was GBP 313,614.00, or CA$397,842.81.
However, when CTVNews.ca uses mid-market exchange rates to calculate these costs, Provided by XE.com Beginning September 20, 2022, the day most of the Canadian delegation checked out, the exchange rate was approximately $0.25 CAD higher than the exchange rate used by Global Affairs Canada. That adds about $80,000 to your hotel bill, and the River Suite costs him just over $7,300 a night.
Global Affairs did not respond to a request for clarification on the exchange rate used by CTVNews.ca to calculate its costs.
“My response is: When spending money in this way, can democratic leaders look the average struggling citizen in the eyes and expect them to understand? Kathy Bullock, professor of policy at Queen’s University, told CTVNews.ca. “Canadian and Australian answers are likely to be less permissive than Americans. They can all understand the cost of additional security and status, but unwarranted luxury is another matter.”
The cost is frowned upon, Questions from the OppositionNelson Wiseman, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Toronto, thinks the suite’s price may be justified.
“It depends on what the room is for. There may be receptions and meetings planned with other heads of government and states,” Weisman told CTVNews.ca. “Sounds like a loose change to the $342 billion federal budget.”
Robert Finch is the Dominion Chairman of the Monarchist League advocacy group in Canada. He says Canadian officials probably didn’t have many accommodation options at the time.
“Regarding Her Majesty’s funeral, in one of the tightest and most expensive hotel markets in the world, VIP accommodation was arranged at apparent short notice via block booking by the UK government. Rooms and Suites availability of [the Governor General], [Prime Minister] Staff, including security, were mostly over the edge [Office of the Prime Minister’s] As far as we know, we are in control,” Finch told CTVNews.ca.
Accommodation costs were first revealed toronto sun.
“The Prime Minister enjoyed a luxurious vacation and a wonderful evening of singing in the lobby of one of the coolest hotels on the planet,” said Conservative Party leader Pierre Polivre. in parliament in November, after the story is broken. “Then he spent his $6,000 a night on his room in the hotel. Who stayed in that room?”
In a recent follow-up, The Toronto Sun reported It had obtained an internal email showing how staff at Global Affairs Canada were told not to disclose the occupants of expensive suites. , The Four Seasons, The Langham, The Savoy and Shangri-La all offer cheaper rooms than Corinthia London, the paper notes.
Corinthia London does not appear to have increased the price of the funeral. The current price for the ‘River Suite’ is over £5,220 per night, or $8,500 Canadian at today’s exchange rate. This is an increase from September 2022.
The lobby of a five-star hotel just off the main site in central London is where Trudeau was recorded singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” by the Queen just days before the Queen’s funeral.
Visiting European royalty were housed at Buckingham Palace for their funerals, and many dignitaries stayed at the five-star Claridge’s Hotel. US President Joe Biden also attended the funeral, but stayed in a large townhouse in central London, home to the US ambassador to the UK.
Last week, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation Initiate a Legal Objection To force the government to reveal who stayed in the River Suites at Corinthia London.
“In principle, governments have an obligation to provide transparency to taxpayers,” Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, told CTVNews.ca. “When someone works for taxpayers and spends taxpayer money, they have a legal responsibility to be accountable and transparent about it. I have made it clear that I am not.”
The prime minister is widely expected to return to London with a delegation for the coronation of Charles III on May 6.
These documents, obtained through access to a request for information on Global Affairs Canada, show how much money the Canadian government spent on hotel rooms during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
