Canada’s taxpayers are livid after it was revealed that Governor General Mary Simon spent $71,000 on a limo service during her visit to Iceland last year.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) submitted a series of access-to-information requests to obtain internal government documents, comprising records and receipts of the trip, which began on October 12 and ended on October 15.
According to these records, the four-day trip cost Canadians at least $298,353, with $71,274 being dedicated exclusively to limousine rides from a company called Icelimo Luxury Travel.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
“The governor general spent more on fancy rides in four days than the average Canadian makes in a whole year,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano.
“We’re not saying the governor general should be hitchhiking, but surely she could have gotten around a small island for less than a brand-new BMW.”
The luxury car referenced here — a 2023 BMW i4 eDrive35 — costs $58,245 at the time of publishing this article.
“The amount paid to Icelimo would have covered the cost to purchase – outright – a 2012 Dodge Challenger limousine, with enough money left over also to pick up a 2011 Lincoln Town Car limousine,” the CTF report states.
It further notes that one of Simon’s limo rides was between Hotel Borg — where she stayed with 15 others — and the Harpa Conference Hall in Reykjavik for the Arctic Circle Assembly.
A look at Google Maps shows that this is a nine-minute trip by walk and takes seven minutes by car.
Daily Hive/Google Maps
But the limo rides weren’t the only problematic bit.
Records show that nearly $115,000 was spent on hotel bookings and in-hotel refreshments; $10,000 was spent throwing a “Friends of Canada Reception”; and $12,200 was expensed for a preparatory visit by an unknown staffer between August 28 to September 1.
This amount doesn’t include a $6,400 tab from Icelimo incurred during the pre-visit.
“Simon brought along her husband, her secretary, her director of communications, her manager of strategic communications, two ‘aide-de-camp’ and her official photographer,” states the CTF.
“Maybe when Canadians can barely afford groceries, our government could ease up on the fancy rides, airplane food, hotels and international trips,” Terrazzano remarked.
The CTF report highlights alternative lower-cost options the government could have considered in Reykjavik. This includes transportation services like Pick Me Up and VIP Travel, which would have covered transportation for a lot cheaper.
And instead of a luxury hotel, the CTF says the feds could have rented out a sprawling independent property, like this 700-acre, nine-bedroom farmhouse with a geothermal pool, just an hour from the city.
This isn’t the first time Canadian taxpayers have had a bone to pick with Simon.
The CTF also observed that in March last year, Simon’s weeklong trip to the Middle East cost taxpayers about $1.3 million. In October 2021, another trip to a German bookfair was expensed for $700,000. Simon had brought her husband and 31 others along.
The Iceland trip adds to a string of issues Canadian taxpayers have had with Simon. The CTF has also cross-checked other receipts of her travels.
“In March 2022, Simon’s weeklong trip to the Middle East cost taxpayers about $1.3 million,” reads the CTF’s statement. “In October 2021, Simon brought along her husband and 31 others for a four-day trip to attend a German bookfair, which cost taxpayers about $700,000.”
CTF says its review of receipts showed that Simon and her entourage spent over $100,000 on in-flight catering during the Germany trip alone, ordering luxurious items like beef Wellington and apple-stuffed pork tenderloin.
Even on the Iceland trip, someone spent US$603 on a “beef steak bourguignon with mashed potatoes” and US$238 on “mousse with crumble and strawberry sauce” – all during the flight.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Canadians have previously also expressed anger over Simon’s $9,500 pay raise, bringing her take-home salary to $351,600 in 2023 — $48,800 more than her predecessor made in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation
“Clearly, Simon likes to jet around the world spending buckets of taxpayer cash, but what value are taxpayers getting out of all her fancy trips?” Terrazzano commented. “The feds need to rein in the cost of international trips and Simon’s budget.”
The CTF’s bombshell report about the governor general’s extravagant trip comes at a time when over half of Canadians are just $200 or less away from being unable to pay their bills, and a near-record number of Canadians are worried about bankruptcy.
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