Controversy over PM’s vacation reignites

FLIGHT FLAP

O T TAWA • A media report detailing how a government technician made his way to a pricey private island in the Bahamas had Prime Minister Justin Trudeau deflecting renewed allegations Tuesday about his controversial New Year’s family vacation with the Aga Khan.

Trudeau weathered a barrage of questions from interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose and Opposition House Leader Candice Bergen about the latest cost estimates for the trip, which included a ride on the Aga Khan’s private helicopter.

The Opposition seized on a CBC report that found a Privy Council Office technician travelled to the island by commercially chartered seaplane, undermining Trudeau’s argument that the private helicopter was his only option.

“It’s bad enough that the prime minister chose to vacation at one of the most expensive destination(s) in the world when taxpayers have to pay,” Ambrose told the House of Commons.

“But why did the prime minister tell Canadians a private helicopter was his only option when he knew it was against the law, against his own ethical guidelines and now, we find out, it wasn’t even true.”

in mid-January, Trudeau told reporters in Kingston, Ont., that travel to and from the island “happens on the Aga Khan’s private helicopter.” The prime minister made similar assertions in the Commons.

CBC says the government’s initial $127,187 cost estimate for the trip did not include another $6,695 for the seaplane.

Trudeau responded to the allegations Tuesday with his standard reply: it was a private family vacation he’s happy to discuss with the federal ethics commissioner.

But he also fended off questions from the opposition about his decisionmaking abilities by saying the Mounties bear responsibility for deciding which mode of transportation he took to the island.

“Furthermore, on prime ministerial travel, as is always the case, the RCMP makes determinations around what is the most secure way for a prime minister to travel,” Trudeau said.

Government House Leader Bardish Chagger also cited security rules that made it impossible for the prime minister to get to the island any other way.

“The RCMP determines the safest route for the prime minister to travel,” Chagger said.

Security rules mean the prime minister isn’t allowed to travel without a security detail, nor are the prime minister and his family allowed to take commercial flights. That means they must fly on government aircraft.

Government rules also prohibit the prime minister, cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries from accepting free travel on noncommercial chartered or private aircraft without first seeking the approval of the ethics commissioner.

The federal ethics watchdog is looking into the trip to see if Trudeau violated those guidelines.