Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in an interview at the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council in Ottawa on Monday, December 11, 2023. The Prime Minister's Office has provided additional information about Trudeau's family holiday in Jamaica, emphasizing that they are staying with family friends and there is no associated cost. Sean Kilpatrick took the photograph for The Canadian Press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office has clarified the family's vacation in Jamaica, stating that they are staying "at no cost at a location owned by family friends." This comes after initial reports suggested that the family was covering the expenses of their stay.
The Prime Minister's Office released a statement on Wednesday, noting that the federal ethics commissioner was consulted before the travel to ensure compliance with rules. The clarification was provided a day before the conclusion of Trudeau's holiday on the Caribbean island, where he is accompanied by his estranged wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, and their three children. Last summer, the couple announced their separation after 18 years of marriage but emphasized their commitment to remaining close.
Before they depart for Jamaica on Boxing Day, Trudeau's office had indicated that the family would pay for their stay and reimburse the public for the cost of using a government plane for travel. The statement on Wednesday reiterated that the prime minister continues to reimburse the equivalent of a commercial airline ticket for personal travel and that of his family.
Details about the specific location where Trudeau is staying were not confirmed by officials. However, CBC and Radio-Canada had reported last spring that during the family's previous New Year's trip to Jamaica, they stayed at a luxury estate owned by Peter Green, a longtime family friend.
Trudeau's past vacation choices have faced scrutiny, particularly his trip to the Aga Khan's private island in the Bahamas after Christmas Day in 2016. This led to an ethics violation for violating conflict-of-interest rules. The former ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, determined that the vacation breached the law prohibiting ministers from accepting gifts or "advantages" that could be perceived as influencing government business.
Dawson ruled that the exception allowing gifts from friends did not apply in that case, as Trudeau and the Aga Khan had minimal contact in the 30 years before Trudeau's election as the Liberal party leader. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner stated that they could not disclose specific details about the information provided by Trudeau's office regarding the Jamaica trip due to privacy requirements under conflict-of-interest rules. The spokesperson emphasized that there is an exception in the act allowing public officers to accept gifts or advantages from relatives or friends without public disclosure.
