OTTAWA – The defence department spent more than $32,000 on kosher food to feed the government’s delegation when it flew to Israel in January, documents show.
Some 110 people accompanied Prime Minister Stephen Harper on two flights on the government plane from Ottawa to Germany, and from Germany to Tel Aviv.
That number includes journalists, stakeholders such as rabbis and Jewish associations, and 31 Parliamentarians, such as Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Conservative MP Mark Adler.
The cost of the meals totalled $32,333 – almost $150 per meal, per person, according to documents obtained under Access to Information.
Raw video: Prime Minister Harper arrives at Israeli Knesset
And even though the food was pricey, some people on the flight were not impressed by the quality. One person said the second meal that was served was almost inedible.
NDP MP Charlie Angus, the party’s ethics critics, said the prime minister needs to explain why the costs were so high.
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“With this prime minister there seems to be this sense of extravagance for themselves,” Angus said.
“Where’s the value for money? Why was the taxpayer paying for it, who were we paying for, and if the food looked pretty dismal to begin with, was there any quality control checks?”
Journalists paid upwards of $8,000 to accompany Harper on the six-day trip to Israel and Jordan.
Watch: Harper heckled during speech before Israeli Knesset
The meal costs were higher than the average for the trip, because all passengers received the kosher meals, which are much more expensive than non-Kosher food.
Many members of the Canada Jewish community were part of the delegation and obeyed dietary restrictions.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office defended the costs.
“In the last five years, our government has cut travel costs by 23 per cent, resulting in significant savings for the taxpayer,” spokesman Stephen Lecce wrote in an email.
“The official delegation accompanying Prime Minister Harper on his visit to the Middle East consisted of prominent business and community leaders from across Canada. Their participation played a valuable role in helping to strengthen Canada’s economic and people-to-people ties to this important part of the world.”
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