Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – over $200k for in flight meals on one flight. – Shame on you!

While we are being told to cut down on carbon emissions and being taxed to death, our leader decides it’s OK to spendover $200k for one trip for in flight meals. This is an excerpt from the First Reading Newsletter.


TOP STORY  

This week, a House of Commons disclosure revealed that a six-day prime ministerial visit to Asia last year somehow managed to incur $223,234 in in-flight catering costs. There were a maximum of 72 passengers aboard the jet during the trip, although that dropped as low as 37 on certain legs. As to who they were, it included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his son Xavier, various cabinet ministers, and the prime minister’s usual entourage of advisers, PR flacks, videographers and photographers. If we assume that the $223,234 was shared equally among the 72, that comes to $3,100 per person. Or, $516 per person, per day. And again; that’s only the in-flight food. The trip included visits to the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia, the G20 summit in India and a side trip to Singapore; anything the Canadian delegation ate at those places was billed to a separate tab.   To get a sense of just how much food $223,234 could buy under different circumstances, we’ve compiled a few comparisons below. 

It’s 10,630 glasses of $16 orange juice The most iconic food-based spending scandal during the premiership of Stephen Harper was the time in 2012 when his minister of international co-operation billed taxpayers for a $16 room service orange juice. With inflation, that $16 orange juice would now cost about $21. So, $223,234 would buy 10,630 glasses of it. Assuming it’s an eight-ounce glass of orange juice, that’s the equivalent of 2,500 litres. Or, enough Bev Oda orange juice to fill eight clawfoot bathtubs. 

It’s 11,045 of the most expensive Subway sandwich possible In Canada, one of the places most impacted by rising inflation has been the fast food sphere. Only a few years ago it was still possible to get a $5 footlong at a Canadian Subway. Now, there’s no footlong cheaper than $10, and the priciest sandwich (the Stampede Brisket) tops out at an eye-watering $17.81, not including tax, drink or cookie. Still, if the Trudeau party had spent their catering budget entirely on Stampede Briskets, with HST they would have been able to buy 11,045 of them. For a party of 72 eating three Stampede Brisket footlongs per day, that would cover them for 51 days. 

It’s 217 servings of the most expensive restaurant meal in Toronto If you went out for dinner in Toronto with the singular goal of spending as much money as possible, you would probably end up at Jacob’s Steakhouse. It’s one of the only restaurants in Canada offering authentic Kobe beef from Japan, and a 14-ounce A5 Kobe ribeye flown in direct from Hyogo Prefecture will cost you $910 ($1,028.30 with HST). Given the limited number of in-flight meals actually consumed by Trudeau’s party during the six-day trip, it’s entirely likely that the catering bill wouldn’t have been all that different if the trip had simply brought a couple coolers filled with boxed-up Jacob’s Steakhouse Kobe ribeyes. 

It’s 12,401 units of Canadian Armed Forces rations The prime minister does all his travelling in military jets. The CC-150 Polaris that was used to take him and his entourage to Asia is part of the RCAF fleet, and shares pilots and maintenance staff with the likes of the CC-130 Hercules cargo aircraft or the CC-177 Globemaster strategic airlifter. If the Canadian Armed Forces were flying 72 service members overseas, they would probably feed them IMPs; a boxed ready-to-eat field ration. They’re also really tasty; as military field rations go, the Canadian IMP is considered one of the best in the world. According to a 2004 feature in Legion Magazine, an IMP costs about $11.50 — about $18 in 2024 prices. In a scenario where the Trudeau delegation had slummed it with IMPs (and had taken all three of their daily meals in-flight for the entire trip), the catering costs for the trip would have topped out at $23,328. 

It’s nearly half a million food bank meals News of the $223,234 catering tab dropped the exact same week that Food Banks Canada released a report estimating that as many as 25 per cent of Canadians could be living in what the organization characterizes as a “poverty-level” standard of living. This adds to a suite of figures showing that Canadian food bank visits are currently reaching all-time highs. Food bank networks such as Feed Ontario generally work to a standard of providing two meals for every $1 donated. So, $223,234 in the hands of a food bank could conceivably secure 446,000 meal equivalents. If a group of 72 Canadians were to live off food bank meals at 50 cents a unit, $223,234 would keep them fed for 5.6 years. Or, the equivalent of 344 six-day trips.

It’s in league with the famously expensive Stanley Cup bar tab racked up by the Boston Bruins In the annals of professional sports excess, one of the most famous is a night in 2011 when the Boston Bruins managed to rack up a US$156,000 bar tab. The Bruins had just beaten the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, and they celebrated by going to the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. By night’s end, the tab came to $156,679.74 – most of that due to a 30-litre bottle of Midas champagne costing $100,000. With inflation and exchange rate, the bar tab is the equivalent of $281,000 – about 25 per cent higher than the Trudeau in-flight catering tab. Still, if you take two dozen victory-flushed NHL players and put them in a Connecticut casino with instructions to drink as much premium liquor as they possibly can, it’s not going to cost you much more than the apparent six-day price of having snacks and in-flight meals available for Justin Trudeau’s entourage.?
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We owe everything to those who went before us

by William A. C. Rosenblath – November 2023

Figure 1 -The Armoury (mall) – Picton, ON

There is a display in “The Armoury” (mall) here in Picton Ontario that has a collection of items from the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment whose members fought in WWII. The Armoury was originally where the Military stored vehicles, weapons and Artillery in days gone by, but was later converted into a mall and in recent years has undergone further renovations under new ownership.

While strolling though the mall one day after some recent renovations (2021).  I took time to view the display and was very surprised to find a picture of my Grandfather Allan Nutley as well as something I wouldn’t have thought could have survived all these years too; a Valentine’s day card my Grandfather sent to my Grandmother Lena Nutley while he was away during wartime service.

Figure 2 – Valentine from Allan Nutley to Lena Chapman 1945 – The Armoury Memorial Display

Figure 3- Allan Nutley The Armoury Memorial Display

Figure 4- Private Allan Nutley 1939

My grandfather, Allan Nutley served in the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment as a Medic and spent a lot of time in ambulances during the war. (He also did a stint with the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, sometimes called the PLDG ..Pretty Little Dancing Girls was what my Grandfather called the PLDG Regiment during our any talks when I was a teenager). 

Figure 5 – Newspaper clipping circa 1940

My Grandfather was one of three brothers that enlisted from Prince Edward County in September of 1939. He was joined by his brothers CSM Charles Nutley and LC Reginald Nutley

My Great Uncle Reg, (LC Reginald Nutley) was injured badly and sent home home with an honorable discharge in 1943.

My Great Uncle Charlie. ( CSM Charles Nutley) was killed in action during the landing on the beaches of Sicily on July 10th, 1943. Charles was written about by Farley Mowat in his description of the landing in his book “And No Birds Sang”. CSM Nutley was shot through the neck by a sniper within an arms reach of Mr. Mowat.

Figure 6 – Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment Landing on the Beach in Sicily July 10, 1943

Charles was buried at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Italy

Figure 6- CSM Charles Nutley Tombstone in Agira Canadian War Cemetery – Italy

Near the end of the war, the ambulance my Grandfather Allan Nutley was in was blown up and he spent a couple months in England waiting to go back to the front. 

While he was convalescing and preparing to return to the fight, the war ended, and he was sent home like so many others.

He spent 5 years over seas during WWII and was part of the Italian campaign. 

After coming home my Grandfather received both hand written and typed letters of recommendation from his Regimental Medical Officer that could be used to seek a job in a medical field. He decided not to pursue work in the medical field because he had seen too much during the war.

Figure 7- Hand written letter of recommendation for Allan Nutley – 1947

Figure 8 – Typewritten letter of recommendation for Allan Nutley 1947

Figure 9 – Front of post card sent by my Grandfather from England to my GrandmotherDate unknown

Figure 10 – Back of postcard sent by my Grandfather from England to my Grandmother – Date Unknown

Figure 11 – Allan Nutley In field battle dress

Figure 12 – Allan Nutley Preparing for hike in rain in full gear.

Figure 13- Allan Nutley in dress uniform

Figure 14 – Allan Nutley’s Squad

Figure 15 – Allan Nutley – Wreath Ceremony at Hastings & Prince Edward Regimental Memorial – Belleville Ontario.

Later in the 1980’s my Grandfather was asked to take part in a memorial wreath placing service at the Hastings & Prince Edward Regimental Monument in Belleville Ontario.

I remember when I was in my teens, Poppa was having issues with his knee and surgeons removed shrapnel that had been in his knee since that time when he was “blown out of the ambulance”.  (40 years later!)

My Father,  William James Rosenblath joined the military after just turning 17.in 1958.  His father signed the papers to allow entry under the age 18. 

Figure 16 – William James Rosenblath – Royal Canadian Guard

He was assigned to the Canadian Guards. 

After basic training he went to Germany for 3 years on his first deployment. Dad remarked on this once with wonder saying . “There I was 18 years old and walking down a street in Amsterdam.”

In 1962 Dad returned to Canada and was stationed at Camp Picton with the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the Canadian Guards, they were known as the Queens Guard of Canada and fashioned after the Queens Guard in England. They were recognized for their sharp dress uniforms of red with those tall bearskin hats. Every possible surface that could be shined in their uniform had to be perfect, shoes, buttons, the brim of their hats etc.  

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, Join the navy and see the world.” Dad said jokingly with the guards it was “Join the guards and shine the world.”

Dad met my mom Deanna Rosenblath while stationed at Camp Picton. 

Dad left for cypress 7 weeks after getting married and spent 6 months on peacekeeping duty with NATO helping with the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks. 

Figure 17 – William James Rosenblath – NATO Peacekeeping Medals display

Figure 18 – William James Rosenblath – NATO Peacekeeping Medals

As a child I never thought much about it, but the older I get, more I realize how important it is that we take time to reflect every year.  We would be nothing without the contributions made to ensure our freedom by those brave people that went before us. “Lest We Forget”…

William A. C. Rosenblath – November 2023
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The McCormack’s of PEC

There are landowners all over ontario that purchase homes and tenants refuse to leave and they can’t do anything since the Landlord Tennant Board takes forever and Tenants rights are always favoured. In some cases this has caused the purchasers to lose everything while the government stands by and lawyers claim rights for the Tennant who stops paying rent and still refuses to vacate.  Hopefully the McCormack’s can turn this around on the government for once by just refusing to vacate, and getting good legal counsel to put a hold on the lease termination pending the appeal. 

In a case like this where the occupants are basing their livelihood on having the locations, not to mention doing a lot maintenance that the government was supposed to do but doesn’t, I would hope any civil rights lawyer worth a grain of salt would be able to fight this on that let alone on the basis of previous agreements made by the federal government.

Welcome to the new order of government over reach and meddling even more in people’s lives.  Our rights continue to be eroded in the guise of good intentions. Woke facist beliefs frome group who feel that the government has the right to tell us what to think and how to feel. They’re in our homes and lives and in our wallets and they haven’t the right.

Less government means less taxes and less intrusion.  All we can do is to start voting to reduce government control and look at other parties that stand for individual rights rather than government control. They exist, but so many people simply ignore what’s going on and do nothing. The ones who get voted in stop working for the voters and begin campaigns to stay in power instead. The cycle just seems to keep repeating itself.

“Liberal governments always seem to develop into aristocracies. The bureaucracies betray the true intent of people who form such governments. Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens find themselves suddenly in the hands of bureaucratic aristocracies.”

God Emperor of Dune – Frank Herbert

I hope the McCormicks are successful fighting their government eviction. It would nice to see a win for the people for a change.

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The federal ethics commissioner role has been vacant for six months. Why is it taking so long?

Mario DionPHOTO: Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The federal ethics commissioner role has been vacant for six months. Why is it taking so long?
By Catherine Morrison
 It’s been over six months since the federal government has had an ethics watchdog in place. The vacancy can not only hold up investigations and allow unethical behaviour to go unnoticed, but it has also raised questions about the appointment process of the next commissioner.

The Government of Canada has been without a conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner since the winter, following former commissioner Mario Dion’s retirement in February. While the position was briefly filled by Martine Richard, who took on an interim role in April, it is currently vacant as she quickly resigned due to controversy about her family ties to Minister Dominic LeBlanc. The main role of the commissioner is to administer the Conflict of Interest Act for public office holders and the Conflict of Interest Code for members of the House of Commons, in order to “prevent conflicts between private interests and the public duties of appointed and elected officials,” according to the federal government.
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How can you tell summer is almost over?

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We really need to chose our leaders way better than we have been in the last few decades

The problem isn’t “The Government” as an entity, the problem is the people chosen or appointed to lead. We have to find away to choose better leaders with dignity, proven leadership skills, and above all benevolence and integrity with a will to serve the good of all people not just work to get votes by favouring the ones who scream the loudest and want their so called “woke” beliefs (which in many examples out there now is just fascism with a smiling face) to become law, or favouring the ones that line their pockets to further their own agendas.

Here are a couple examples from one day of elected and appointed/hired government officials and authority figures abusing power over fiscal and social responsibility. Those chosen to be in federal provincial and municipal authority MUST do better.

Excerpts from The Ottawa Citizen | Evening Update:

National Defence executives rake in almost $3.5 million in bonuses.


By David Pugliese

National Defence civilian executives were awarded almost $3.5 million in bonuses with one public servant being paid an extra $101,000.

The bonuses cover the period between April 2021 and March 2022, a time that involved the federal government and National Defence responding to the pandemic. But it was also a period marked by ongoing bungled defence procurements, cost overruns in the billions of dollars on equipment programs, and allegations of widespread sexual harassment at the department and in the military.

The bonuses were paid to 252 National Defence executives, according to the documents obtained through the Access to Information law. That means almost all executives in the department received the extra money.


Poster boy for Ottawa by-law and Algonquin college police program secretly filmed women


By Gary Dimmock

Former Ottawa By-law officer Andrew Seangio is the last guy you’d want mentoring young women enrolled in Algonquin College’s police foundations program.

Still, he was literally the poster boy on promotional material for the college and Ottawa By-law, and he was highly recommended by some instructors, particularly when it came to training for physical requirements.

After all, there was a gym at his Ottawa apartment building, and the shower in his unit was always available.

What Seangio didn’t tell the women was that he was secretly filming them in the bathroom as they showered and used the toilet, starting back in 2011.

All sources : https://ottawacitizen.com/

My Advice

Read reputable news sources, look for unbiased journalists and news agencies. They still exist. …You won’t find them on Facebook because fb is not public…it’s a company with shareholders and a goal to make profits from any means possible. ..oh and FB isn’t allowing Canadian News Organizations to Post anymore…unless they pay of course.

My opinion

There’s nothing wrong with trying to make money to support your family and have a better way of life. There’s nothing wrong with standing up for the things you believe in either, just dont do either at the expense of others, ….and, don’t look for guidance in the current administration, they are too busy throwing away your tax dollars and trying to stay in power to line their own pockets way beyond the point of just getting by like most people nowadays because of their bad choices and actions.

By Wil Rosenblath

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