Your tax dollars at work

Welcome back to your weekly stroll through the federal government’s own proactive disclosure filings—the receipts Ottawa dutifully posts, presumably hoping nobody reads them. We read them. Every trip, every lunch, every double-double is on the public record, and this week’s crop offers something for everyone: nuclear diplomacy, bulk-store catering, and a very expensive flight to Berlin. Start with the buffet line. The National Research Council’s Vice President of Engineering, Jean François Houle, disclosed $3,057 for refreshments, lunch, and dinner for a 24-person Technical Officer Community of Practice meeting in Ottawa. The vendors? Costco, Tim Hortons, an independent grocer, and a cocktail lounge. That works out to $127 per head—a figure that splits the difference between a Costco bulk run and what sounds like a proper sit-down tab at the lounge. Not to be outdone on per-head pricing, the Department of Justice’s Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy, Thomas Owen Ripley, hosted a 22-person Steering Committee on Justice Efficiencies at Quebec City’s Hôtel 71 for $3,070—$140 a plate. The committee’s mandate, per the government’s own records, is efficiencies and access to the justice system. Access to the dessert cart appears to have been excellent. For contrast, spare a thought for the Mounties, who fed the masses on a working stiff’s budget during National Public Service Week. Alberta’s Deputy Commissioner Trevor Daroux put $5,366 on the books across 13 vendors—including Tim Hortons, Domino’s, Krispy Kreme, and Costco—spread across nine Alberta towns, for 959 people, about six bucks each. His B.C. counterpart, Deputy Commissioner Kenneth Dwayne McDonald, paid Aramark Canada to feed 1,449 people for $4,081—three dollars a head, a per-person spend most parents of teenagers would kill for. Over on the travel ledger, the biggest single line belongs to RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme, whose two-week swing through Beijing, Tokyo, and London for stakeholder meetings and a Five Eyes law enforcement gathering came to $44,518—including $33,335 in airfare. That’s a family sedan’s worth of travel, disclosed to the dime, for a fortnight of policing diplomacy across three cities and two continents. Speaking of airfare doing the heavy lifting: Member of Parliament Jacob Mantle accompanied the Industry Minister to Berlin for three days in April at a cost of $15,165—of which $14,478 was the flight, with just $205 for lodging and $214 for meals. Credit where due: once on the ground, the member appears to have subsisted on discipline and complimentary breakfast. The plane ticket, however, cost more than some Canadians’ cars. And if you found yourself in London this spring, you were in good company—Ottawa’s finest were practically commuting there. The government’s records show a springtime cluster of officials in the British capital: Chief Statistician André Loranger spent $13,357 attending a national accounts roundtable and a conference on economic measurement—though King’s College London chipped in a partial reimbursement for his flight and hotel, so taxpayers didn’t cover the whole tab (yes, the man who measures the economy filed a precisely measured expense report), while National Defence’s chief technology officer Sophie Martel billed $12,153 for a cybersecurity conference, and a defence ADM, Jaspinder Komal, passed through on a $11,955 Amsterdam–London–Glasgow swing for allied research meetings. Add the pension board and the banking regulator, who also had people on the ground, and one begins to suspect Canada could have saved money by simply opening a second High Commission with a punch card. Paris drew its own crowd—the Canadian Space Agency’s Jean-Claude Piedboeuf attended the European Space Agency Council meeting for $14,844, which, in fairness, is cheaper than most things involving rockets. But let us end, as always, with proof that every dime really is disclosed. Derek Goring, CEO of Downsview Metro Devco, filed a hospitality expense of $110 for an external meeting for three people at a Toronto restaurant—$36 a head, itemized, vendor named, posted for the nation to inspect. Somewhere, an accountant is sleeping soundly. See you next week. The article reviews recent federal government expense disclosures, highlighting spending on meals and travel. Notable expenses include a $3,057 catering bill for a meeting served by several vendors, including Costco, and a $44,518 trip by RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme to Asia and Europe. Other officials also incurred significant travel costs, with MPs attending events in London and Paris. The article contrasts high-profile expenses with more modest spending by the RCMP during National Public Service Week. Overall, the piece underscores the transparency of government spending, revealing both lavish and economical choices made by public officials. Ask about this article — or anything in Canadian politics, economics, and public policy — powered by The Hub’s 5,000-article archive and deep area expertise. Comments (0)