Calls it a “disastrous waste of money” by the Conservative whip
When nearly half of the advertised delegates for a meeting of European MPs it organized either didn’t show up or selected less expensive lodgings, Parliament spent nearly $600,000 on luxurious hotel rooms it didn’t use.
The annual conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was held in Vancouver from June 30 to July 4, with 700 delegates expected by Parliament. Since the majority of its members are headquartered in Europe, the conference is typically held there.
There were only 365 delegates in the end, and several did not stay in the hotels the government had chosen. As a result, taxpayers were responsible for 1,400 overnight accommodations totaling $596,000, or $425 per night.
The conference’s audio-visual expenses exceeded initial estimates as well, adding $649,000 to the event’s $1.8 million overrun.
Sen. Elizabeth Marshall, a former Newfoundland and Labrador auditor general, questioned the high expense of the meeting.
“People waiting in line at food banks while we’re looking at a $1.8 million event that went 35 percent over budget is very concerning, especially in these hard times financially,” Marshall said during parliamentary officials’ appearance before the Senate’s internal economy, budgets, and administration committee. “That does not look good on either the Senate or the House of Commons.”
Sen. Don Plett, a conservative, expressed his concern about the deficit.
He told the committee, “I don’t know how we can just… sugarcoat this and pass this off.” “A deficit of over a half a million dollars.”
