Harper gives EU leaders free plane ride for 300+K
bootlegga @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:20 am
Harper gives EU leaders free plane ride; CBC report pegs tab at over $300,000
$1:
OTTAWA - The Prime Minister's Office is defending a decision to give a European Union delegation a free plane flight home last week at a cost that one media report estimated at more than $300,000.
Jason MacDonald says a Canadian Forces Airbus was offered as a courtesy to ensure "that no elements" of Friday's Canada-EU summit were cut short.
Two top European Union leaders, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, were in Ottawa where they signed a Canada-EU free-trade agreement.
The CBC is reporting that adding a Toronto reception to the visit would have made it impossible for the EU delegation to catch a commercial flight from Ottawa and make it to a Saturday meeting in Brussels.
The CBC says Prime Minister Stephen Harper authorized the use of the Airbus that he normally uses on foreign trips.
Sunday's CBC report estimated the cost of the flight to be in the neighbourhood of $338,055, basing its calculations on government figures from 2012 on the estimated hourly cost to operate the aircraft.
An initial email response from MacDonald did not contest the CBC's cost estimate, instead touting the benefits of the trade deal and the summit.
"Friday's Summit allowed business leaders to meet and discuss the opportunities the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement present," the email said. "The Airbus was offered as a courtesy to our European Union guests."
Harper has touted the trade deal as a major achievement for his government, which faces an election next year.
Last year he flew to Brussels with great fanfare for a signing ceremony on an agreement in principle.
Concerns were raised last week that some EU members might try to scuttle the deal, but Van Rompuy, the European Council President and Barroso, the European Commission President, both joined Harper in dismissing any suggestion the deal faced any significant difficulties.
It must still be approved by all 28 EU members and the Canadian provinces.
Jason MacDonald says a Canadian Forces Airbus was offered as a courtesy to ensure "that no elements" of Friday's Canada-EU summit were cut short.
Two top European Union leaders, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso, were in Ottawa where they signed a Canada-EU free-trade agreement.
The CBC is reporting that adding a Toronto reception to the visit would have made it impossible for the EU delegation to catch a commercial flight from Ottawa and make it to a Saturday meeting in Brussels.
The CBC says Prime Minister Stephen Harper authorized the use of the Airbus that he normally uses on foreign trips.
Sunday's CBC report estimated the cost of the flight to be in the neighbourhood of $338,055, basing its calculations on government figures from 2012 on the estimated hourly cost to operate the aircraft.
An initial email response from MacDonald did not contest the CBC's cost estimate, instead touting the benefits of the trade deal and the summit.
"Friday's Summit allowed business leaders to meet and discuss the opportunities the Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement present," the email said. "The Airbus was offered as a courtesy to our European Union guests."
Harper has touted the trade deal as a major achievement for his government, which faces an election next year.
Last year he flew to Brussels with great fanfare for a signing ceremony on an agreement in principle.
Concerns were raised last week that some EU members might try to scuttle the deal, but Van Rompuy, the European Council President and Barroso, the European Commission President, both joined Harper in dismissing any suggestion the deal faced any significant difficulties.
It must still be approved by all 28 EU members and the Canadian provinces.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/harper-gives- ... 59751.html
martin14 @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:39 am
Hey, the EU needs that 300k to give to Ukraine to pay their gas bill. 
Plebs worry about pleb money.
Delwin @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:13 am
Honestly, much ado about nothing. There are a lot of things Harper could be hung out to dry over, but a 300k diplomatic gesture isn't it. It just distracts from all the real reasons he is a horrible Prime minister.
BartSimpson @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:19 am
I don't see the problem given that so many NATO members have given rides to CF over the past decade. It's just being neighborly is all. I agree it's not a small cost, but it's well invested in terms of diplomacy and good will.
ShepherdsDog @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:19 am
We give billions of dollars away knowing there's no chance we'll ever see a return on it. This coming election is going to be a real hard one. I see record levels of voter apathy playing a major role. Harper and the CPC are unlikable due to their hypocrisy, Trudeau and the LPC are twits with no substance and Mulcair heads the NDP....unthinkable to have them running the show, a true horror show.
Regina @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:07 pm
I don't see the big deal either.
DrCaleb @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:19 pm
Regina Regina:
I don't see the big deal either.
I do. Harper spent $300k for a photo op (plus the party) of a deal that had already been signed, but he's cutting back on things like Veterans Benefits and Food Inspections.
It's a waste. A small waste, but with all the apathy piling up all the little bits will turn into a big waste. And the parts that really need looking after end up suffering.
Thanos @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:19 pm
The Dippers are mad because they wanted that money to be given to someone who deserves it, like ChiefThief Teresa Spence.
ShepherdsDog @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:40 pm
Theresa Ten Chins likely has that much set aside for KFC runs
OnTheIce @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:06 pm
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
Regina Regina:
I don't see the big deal either.
I do. Harper spent $300k for a photo op (plus the party) of a deal that had already been signed, but he's cutting back on things like Veterans Benefits and Food Inspections.
It's a waste. A small waste, but with all the apathy piling up all the little bits will turn into a big waste. And the parts that really need looking after end up suffering.
You can't pay for the little things without a strong economy. We need Canada competitive within World markets and if that means kissing some Euro ass to make deals to make this Country's economy better in the long-term, I'm all for it.
BartSimpson @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:24 pm
If Harper had received a free ride from another government I doubt that any of you would complain about it.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
Vamp018 @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:45 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
If Harper had received a free ride from another government I doubt that any of you would complain about it.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
They've been watching too many of Obama's Press Golf Conference's.
Regina @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:50 pm
With all that's going on around the world, I don't believe for a second that that commerce was the only topic discussed and that relationship building was being done.
saturn_656 @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:52 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
If Harper had received a free ride from another government I doubt that any of you would complain about it.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
I agree... but when was the last time you guys let anyone (other than POTUS) go for a ride in a VC-25? Would it ever happen?
Perhaps as guests of the President. Alone though?
Thanos @ Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:56 pm
BartSimpson BartSimpson:
If Harper had received a free ride from another government I doubt that any of you would complain about it.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
So stop being selfish and cheap.
You don't know the NDP very well. A free plane trip for the PM would be more than enough to start them on one of their masturbatory Viva la Revolucion! cycles. They're simply tedious envy-consumed little assholes and they always will be.