CTF upset by Premier Redford’s Olympic bill
Posted Nov 17, 2012 11:52 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says $12,550 is what it cost Alberta taxpayers to send Premier Alison Redford to London last summer during the Summer Olympics. The CTF unearthed documents concerning the Premier’s expenses during the Olympics junket.
But that’s not all. The tab for $12,550 was for the Calgary-London round trip flight ticket — with a detour to Paris — and doesn’t included $6,900 for a five night hotel stay or $3,650 for a car and driver for the Premier while in London.
CTF spokesman Derek Fildebrandt questions the legitimacy of the trip in an interview with the Calgary Herald, noting that no one goes to the Olympics to see a provincial premier from the other side of world, but to see the likes of sprint champion Usain Bolt.
Fildebrandt is also curious why there’s no record of meal receipts during the trip.
The London blitz by Travel Alberta and the departments of Tourism and Culture cost the province about $940,000. The tab included $114,000 for rooms that were booked, but not used, after the Alberta delegation was downsized. But government officials point to successes from the trip, including a commitment by a German tourist operator to send 660 travel agents to Banff and Calgary next year leading to increase promotion of the region.
