Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is flying in and out of Bermuda on Wednesday and is scheduled to deliver the eulogy at the funeral of Peter Green, a close family friend.
Prime Minister Trudeau has been friends with the Green family since the 1970s. Pierre Trudeau was godfather to Peter Green’s son Alexander, and he gave a reading at Trudeau’s funeral in Montreal.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau also spoke at the funeral of Peter Green, who died of cancer in Edmonton in 1990 at the age of 38.
This Christmas, Prime Minister Trudeau and his family stayed at Green’s Prospect Estate Resort near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
The Prospect Estate is legendary among the richest and most powerful families around the world. Over the decades, dignitaries such as Winston Churchill, Henry Kissinger, and Prince Philip have stayed here, sometimes planting trees to commemorate their visits.
Pierre Trudeau first stayed at Prospect Estate in 1975 during an official visit to Jamaica.
The PMO initially said Justin Trudeau paid for his family’s accommodation during their 2023 Christmas trip, which some estimate was worth $84,000. His office later announced that the family was staying at Green’s resort for free.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told Radio-Canada that the Conflicts of Interest and Ethics Committee was consulted and given the go-ahead to ensure all rules were respected before the trip to Jamaica. .
Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finkenstein told a parliamentary committee that the rules governing gifts and travel that MPs can accept also include exceptions for gifts and travel provided by friends and family. He said there was.
“It’s clear that what we have here is a generous gift between friends, but I don’t see why you can’t exchange gifts just because you’re wealthy,” von Finkenstein said of the trip.
Cost of Jamaica trip to visit the Greens
Although accommodation for the trip was a gift, the Prime Minister’s 10-day family trip to the island still cost taxpayers $230,442.
The largest single expenditure for the Jamaica trip was $162,051 for RCMP officers accompanying the Trudeau family, according to documents placed in the House of Commons.
The trip was cut short after the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) plane that transported the family to Jamaica had a mechanical problem, forcing CAF to send a second plane with a crew on board to repair it. It was especially expensive.
According to documents submitted to the House of Representatives, Unit 2 accounted for $20,835 of the military’s $57,553 in travel expenses.
Privy Council Office (PCO) staff responsible for ensuring the Prime Minister had access to secure communications cost taxpayers an additional $10,838.
In 2021, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation announced that a gift from the Green family made it possible to establish the Mary Jean Mitchell Green Scholarship in memory of his mother.
The Foundation’s Leadership Scholarship funds doctoral research. Scholars can receive up to $180,000 over three years to cover tuition, research, travel, and more.
