Government Operations committee  Good afternoon. Thank you, Chair and members of the committee, for this opportunity for me and my colleagues from Global Affairs and the Department of National Defence to assist the committee in its work today in its study of catering expenses related to official diplomatic trav

Government Operations committee  The Governor General was indeed in London for her official meeting with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This had not been possible during her swearing‑in ceremony due to pandemic restrictions. The flight you are referring to left Canada while the Governor General was overseas. Th

Government Operations committee  I would like to clear things up about the meal costs by stating that I was on board one of those flights. I can guarantee that the meals that we received were the same ones that are served on board commercial flights. Nothing in the menus gave cause for alarm. That is why we thin

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. I'm in agreement with you.

Government Operations committee  I will give an overview, and then I'll ask my colleague Mr. Wheeler to add to this, as these are the objectives of the government. The Governor General is the commander-in-chief. One of the reasons we were going to this region and one of the things she did while she was there wa

Government Operations committee  The measures I was referring to are the measures that my colleagues are developing. Our office is supportive of anything we can do to bring more efficiencies to these processes—for example, bringing down the contingency, removing choice to the passengers on the flight and looking

Government Operations committee  Again, to add a personal experience, I actually contracted COVID on this visit. I had to remain behind and quarantine in Qatar. So in terms of the Treasury Board.... This came to me as a public servant. You talk about per diems for members of Parliament. This to me gives an overa

Government Operations committee  It was a very unique experience.

Government Operations committee  Yes. The entire motorcade left and I stayed behind for 11 days. It did help me appreciate what some of the challenges are.

Government Operations committee  In this instance, I can confirm that she took the Challenger to fly to London.

Government Operations committee  You should know that ferrying the entire delegation to London would have cost much more if we had taken into account hotel rooms, meals, etc. These are the types of discussions that we are always having.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. As part of my duties as the Deputy Secretary for the Policy, Program and Protocol Branch at the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, or the OSGG as we are known, I am responsible for the planning and execution of the

Government Operations committee  As Mr. Wheeler mentioned, I would be pleased to come back to the committee once I've had a chance to study more clearly the recommendations, but I can say that one thing our office has done since 2004 is produce and publish on our website an annual report that gives an overview o

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. Let me be clear. As I've said before, the costs of the catering were unacceptable. The comments made during the previous experience in September were based on my experience of being involved with official international visits over many years. I was giving an example

Government Operations committee  Perhaps I can start by reiterating that the Governor General and her office are not involved in any way in the procurement or selection of the catering, but we have participated in a working group that has been set up by my colleague Mr. Wheeler and my colleague General Kenny. As