The $100 million spent by the federal government on two Challenger 604 business jets might not be a bad investment considering Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s ability to pile up more mileage than a travelling Hoover salesman.
Consider Chretien’s travel log in 2000, when he managed visits to China, Central America, Jamaica, Dominica, Okinawa, Paris, Lisbon, Berlin, the Middle East, and the list goes on. The total cost for his trips to international conferences and meetings that year — $12.6 million.
Travelling the world has become something of a hobby for Chretien, but not a cheap one. Canadians are being forced to support Chretien’s penchant for globe-trotting, and each year since 1994 the bills have been growing steadily larger. In 1994, Chretien’s trips to international meetings cost $3.3 million. In 1997 the bills had grown to $6.7 million, and by 1999 reached $10.3 million.
The rising costs of Chretien’s travels present an alarming trend, as the number and cost of these trips can’t be easily justified. There’s been no clear call for greater Canadian representation at international meetings, nor do these travels reflect a change in foreign policy.
The prime minister’s growing international travels may indicate the PM is winding down his political career – following in the footsteps of his political mentor Pierre Trudeau – with another self-aggrandizing, costly legacy project.
Granted, it’s imperative Canada be represented at NATO, APEC, or G8 meetings. Canada has clear links with these international organizations. But other trips have a less obvious value. For example, in 2000 Chretien travelled to Turkey for a meeting of the Organization for the Security and Cooperation Europe. The costs: $876,000.
The most expensive trips, however, have been Chretien’s Team Canada missions. While the worth of these trade missions seems somewhat dubious, the costs are clear cut. Chretien’s Team Canada mission to China in 2000 cost a staggering $6.7 million. The missions also appear to have become more extravagant. Costs for the 1995 Team Canada mission to India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia cost a modest $1.4 million. The 1997 mission to Mexico City, Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago cost $4.5 million.
What’s most disturbing, however, is when these global excursions are compared to Chretien’s travels inside his own country. Westerners might have had a better chance sighting a Sasquatch than a prime minister in the past eight years. From 1997 to 2001, Chretien spent more time vacationing in Florida than in Western Canada. While Chretien made three trips to Winnipeg in a year-and-half period, each one was for party fund-raisers. As a result, Chretien took back to Ottawa some $700,000, reported the Winnipeg Sun in 1999.
It’s time the high-flying prime minister was grounded, and told that being prime minister means trying to deal with at least a few of the issues facing Canadians. Travelling the world, and sticking Canadians with multi-million dollar bills does nothing.
– Colin Campbell