Trudeau says mom, in-laws invited by Obama

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau is defending the size of the delegation that accompanied him during his first visit to Washington in March, revealing that at least three of them — his mother and his in-laws — were personally invited by U.S. President Barack Obama.

But Canadian taxpayers apparently still footed the bill for the prime minister’s family members.

A document tabled in the House of Commons last week disclosed that 44 people were part of the delegation, at a preliminary cost of just over $25,000, with some invoices and expense claims still to be tallied.

However, the Washington entourage pales by comparison to the enormous delegation that attended the two-week United Nations climate change summit in Paris last December.

According to a new document tabled in the Commons, 121 people attended some or all of the summit, including Trudeau, who spent several days in Paris.

The total cost of transporting the delegation by government aircraft is estimated at $188,700. Accommodation, meals and other expenses are not included in the document, which was tabled in response to a written question from Conservative MP Ed Fast, who was himself a member of the Paris delegation.

“To achieve real change on this issue, a collaborative and inclusive approach is required. That’s why the Canadian delegation to the Paris climate conference included representatives from provinces and territories, national aboriginal organizations, youth, non-governmental organizations, businesses and opposition members of Parliament,” the document says.

The document lists the name of each delegation member and the duration of his or her stay but not the cost for each individual. That prompted Fast to accuse the government Monday of having something to hide.

The first time he asked about the climate-change delegation, Fast said he was given a list of expenses racked up by each delegation member but no names were provided. This time, he said he received the names but no individual expenses.

Moreover, Fast said the latest document includes 24 fewer delegates than the initial response he received from the government.

“Canadians smell something fishy. What is the government hiding?” he demanded in the Commons.