$100K Catering bill for Canadian government plane

[RoAF-Mig21]

And you thought that $19.99 sandwhich at YYZ was expensive.

At what point to you start locking people up for extorsion and theft of public funds?

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No more drink garnishes, meal choices on government planes after $100k catering bill: officials

OTTAWA — Drinks on government planes will no longer come with a twist, one of many new measures revealed to “flabbergasted” MPs to reduce the cost of in-flight catering bills after an “unacceptable” $100,000 tab — including $1,000 for lemons and limes — on a recent trip by the governor general.

Article content
“We recognize that the system that we had in place was not delivering the kind of oversight and control that Canadian taxpayers deserve,” Stewart Wheeler, Canada’s chief of protocol, told frustrated MPs on the government operations committee Monday.

More here:
https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/gov ... ering-bill

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People can't afford food and shelter in Canada and our f*cktard government is paying $1000 for lemons and limes?

Q: What do you do when life gives you Lemons?
Government of Canada: Pay $1000 for them!

[JHR]

Typical of this criminal government

[PostmasterGeneral]

Be sure to thank a liberal voter!

[flyndad]

Add this to the recent 6k a night room in London, go figure.

[Roar]

Aircraft catering is outrageously expensive, I have regularly spent $100.00+ per omelette so I'm not surprised in the least that catering for 30 people on an 8 day trip cost $100k.Thats not to say its acceptable for public officials to spending that much. A rich guy in his PJ spending that is one thing, a public servant is quite another. I think the bigger question is why is the Governor General with a 29 person entourage travelling to Europe and the Middle East costing us all 1.3 million in the first place.
The Governor General is just an anachronism with no real purpose internally in Canada and certainly has no need to be flying around the world at great expense.

[McKinley]

Aircraft catering is outrageously expensive, I have regularly spent $100.00+ per omelette so I'm not surprised in the least that catering for 30 people on an 8 day trip cost $100k.Thats not to say its acceptable for public officials to spending that much. A rich guy in his PJ spending that is one thing, a public servant is quite another. I think the bigger question is why is the Governor General with a 29 person entourage travelling to Europe and the Middle East costing us all 1.3 million in the first place.
The Governor General is just an anachronism with no real purpose internally in Canada and certainly has no need to be flying around the world at great expense.

There’s zero reason the CF couldn’t have a branch that does catering….

There’s airlines that have their own catering departments …

[goldeneagle]

There’s zero reason the CF couldn’t have a branch that does catering….

There’s airlines that have their own catering departments …

This is a rehash of a story from months ago. If you paid attention the first time it was going around, the CF did say they dispatched the aircraft and did deal with all the catering. But that part is conveniently left out when this reporter re-runs the story.

[rookiepilot]

“Canadians need to have faith in their government’s honesty and willingness to listen. That is why we committed to set a higher bar for openness and transparency in Ottawa. Government and its information must be open by default. Simply put, it is time to shine more light on government to make sure it remains focused on the people it was created to serve – you.”
(2015)
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/201 ... -canadians

“He was one of six high-ranking public servants from five government organizations called to explain — again — why an eight-day trip from March 16 to 23, 2022, to Europe and the Middle East for Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and 29 guests racked up a nearly six-figure catering bill, as first reported by the National Post in June.”

“During the same meeting, officials told MPs they could not provide detailed receipts for the trip. But the same day, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation provided the National Post with all the trip’s catering receipts obtained via an access to information request.

The fact officials denied being able to detail travel costs all the while receipts were being made public by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation irked MPs, who voted to summon officials back for three more meetings this month to explain themselves as well as the detailed costs of the trip.“

[Daniel Cooper]

Why do we need a Governor General at all. The Queen is gone and we really should take this chance to distance ourselves from a Royal Family which is in absolute shambles.

[godsrcrazy]

Justin will stand up in Parliament say he is sorry and we will all forget about this by the next election. Just like SNC,WE expensive vacations when we are all told to stay home. The list goes on and on.

[Bug_Stomper_01]

Aircraft catering is outrageously expensive, I have regularly spent $100.00+ per omelette so I'm not surprised in the least that catering for 30 people on an 8 day trip cost $100k.Thats not to say its acceptable for public officials to spending that much. A rich guy in his PJ spending that is one thing, a public servant is quite another. I think the bigger question is why is the Governor General with a 29 person entourage travelling to Europe and the Middle East costing us all 1.3 million in the first place.
The Governor General is just an anachronism with no real purpose internally in Canada and certainly has no need to be flying around the world at great expense.

There’s zero reason the CF couldn’t have a branch that does catering….

There’s airlines that have their own catering departments …

They could sub it out to one of the management companies where the pilot is not only on call 24/7, but also the sous chef, flight attendant, rampy, dish pig and lav serviceman lol

[helicopterray]

Recycling stories such as this is designed to manufacture outrage, especially when there's no context provided.
Is this a regular occurrence, or a one time expense. What is the average cost of catering for a government flight, over a 10 year average. What does it cost other governments for the same thing.

While I don't expect government officials to dine at McDonalds on official business trips, I would be upset if it was champagne and caviar on a regular basis, but we have no other context on this trip.

[Old fella]

Why do we need a Governor General at all. The Queen is gone and we really should take this chance to distance ourselves from a Royal Family which is in absolute shambles.

We don’t. However to rid ourselves of King Charles and his futures, consent of the ten Provinces unanimously is required. Those dolt Premiers wouldn’t agree on what day of the month it is, let alone tangling themselves up in a Constitutional shit show. However there are areas that Federal, Provincial and Municipalities can do independently, don’t name any infrastructure, facilities et al after Royals, take their pictures/display from our currency going forward. Also, any future Royal visits, request they(Royals) contribute to the cost.

[digits_]

Well what's a normal mark up on airplane catering? 1000%? Basically 10 times as expensive as 'normal people' food?

That would mean they would have spent 10k 'normal people' food on the 2 flights, for 30 people. That leaves 5k per flight, or 166 CAD per passenger per flight. Still pretty pricy for 3 meals.

The real curiosity is why airplane catering needs to be so excessively expensive. Especially on private jets where the rules are much more relaxed. Who's pocketing the money?

[RoAF-Mig21]

The real curiosity is why airplane catering needs to be so excessively expensive. Especially on private jets where the rules are much more relaxed. Who's pocketing the money?

Good question. I think a big chunk of that goes to the huge operating fees that airports charge businesses to operate there. Look at taxi cabs, food venues, etc. They pay an insane amount of fees to have the right to operate at Canadian airports.

STILL, IT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT COST... The markup should be reasonable to cover costs + an acceptable profit. Unchecked capitalism strikes again.

[digits_]

The real curiosity is why airplane catering needs to be so excessively expensive. Especially on private jets where the rules are much more relaxed. Who's pocketing the money?

Good question. I think a big chunk of that goes to the huge operating fees that airports charge businesses to operate there. Look at taxi cabs, food venues, etc. They pay an insane amount of fees to have the right to operate at Canadian airports.

STILL, IT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT COST... The markup should be reasonable to cover costs + an acceptable profit. Unchecked capitalism strikes again.

But a lot of those private jet catering companies aren't located on airport property. It's a van that delivers the food. They don't have a physical presence. They deliver it to the FBO and the (ground or flight) crew puts it on the plane. That's what's so weird.

[CpnCrunch]

But a lot of those private jet catering companies aren't located on airport property. It's a van that delivers the food. They don't have a physical presence. They deliver it to the FBO and the (ground or flight) crew puts it on the plane. That's what's so weird.

Sounds like the caterers are relying on good old fashioned laziness of their customers to make a nice profit. There are a lot of expenses that can be significantly reduced if you just put a little bit of effort into it.

[goldeneagle]

That would mean they would have spent 10k 'normal people' food on the 2 flights, for 30 people. That leaves 5k per flight, or 166 CAD per passenger per flight. Still pretty pricy for 3 meals.

It was considerably more than two flights. 26 people visited numerous countries over 8 days. When it was originally reported, they made a point of mentioning they were dining on board during flights between places due to tight meeting schedules.

But go ahead, let folks recycle the story out of context, it works to get the uninformed masses all worked up, just look at the reaction it gets here. So easy to pull a few strings and get most of this group all wired up over things.

[Dry Guy]

I think most people would balk at $1000 on lemons. But she's probably just used to the prices at the Northern store in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

[digits_]

I think most people would balk at $1000 on lemons. But she's probably just used to the prices at the Northern store in Kangiqsualujjuaq.

Was it really 1000 dollars in lemons though? Or was it something like 1000 dollars in fruit (eg lemons).

[-42]

She physically and technically does not meet the requirements to even hold a federal government position so there’s that…diversity is out strength=untouchable.

[godsrcrazy]

That would mean they would have spent 10k 'normal people' food on the 2 flights, for 30 people. That leaves 5k per flight, or 166 CAD per passenger per flight. Still pretty pricy for 3 meals.

It was considerably more than two flights. 26 people visited numerous countries over 8 days. When it was originally reported, they made a point of mentioning they were dining on board during flights between places due to tight meeting schedules.

But go ahead, let folks recycle the story out of context, it works to get the uninformed masses all worked up, just look at the reaction it gets here. So easy to pull a few strings and get most of this group all wired up over things.

I have a hard time believing they stocked 8 days of food on this aircraft. Can't see anyone eating 8 day old catering let alone a bunch of politicians. I think we are missing a lot of other catering bills that are probably mixed in with Fuel and ground handling charges in all these other stops.

[RatherBeFlying]

When I was working for Wardair, employees were billed something like $25 for the quite decent meals back in the '80s.

Serious inflation afoot.

[newlygrounded]

Add this to the recent 6k a night room in London, go figure.

How much do you expect a room to cost during the event of a century in a capitol city?

[goldeneagle]

She physically and technically does not meet the requirements to even hold a federal government position so there’s that…diversity is out strength=untouchable.

So please do tell, what are the physical and technical requirements for the position of governor general that would disqualify the current person in that position ?