New Brunswick’s tourism minister has remained defiant in the face of criticism from Opposition members who have questioned the benefits of a weeklong trip to Europe that cost the province more than $22,500.
Tammy Scott-Wallace faced almost two days of questioning in the legislature about her trips but responded that her “conscience is clear.”
Between Sept. 8 and 15, Scott-Wallace and her deputy, Yennah Hurley, travelled to the United Kingdom and France, where they visited Stonehenge, the British Museum, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Versailles.
The Progressive Conservative minister billed the government $10,199 for the trip, and her deputy submitted receipts worth $12,328.
Scott-Wallace says the province secured contracts during her time in the U.K. and France, but the government didn’t immediately respond to questions about the nature and value of those contracts.
Liberal member and tourism critic Isabelle Thériault called the trip “a vacation with a few meetings here and there to justify it.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2024.