Canada sent 633 people to the UN climate change conference, but provided few details on how many people got their flight and room expenses covered
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OTTAWA — Participating in a UN climate change conference last year cost Canada nearly $1.4 million, according to newly released documents.
The 28th United Nations climate change conference, also known as COP28, took place in Dubai from Nov. 30 until Dec. 12.
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Canada’s delegation consisted of 633 attendees, according to answers contained within an order paper question submitted by Conservative MP Andrew Scheer.
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They included federal and provincial politicians, Indigenous and environmental groups, and executives from both government agencies and private corporations.
The numbers contained in the documents are not final, as invoices and claims are still being processed.
The breakdown of the $1,353,307.09 Canada spent to attend COP28 is as follows:
• Transportation: $658,611.50
• Accommodations in 21 Dubai hotels: $449,597.11
• Meals and incidentals: $241,106.02
• Hospitality: $3,992.56
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While the response provided lists of core and pavilion delegation members, the government did not disclose how many people attended the conference on the taxpayer’s dime.
“The federal government covered the costs of federal employees, four Indigenous representatives, six youth delegates, six civil society representatives, six Parliamentarians, one Net-Zero Advisory Board member, five non-public servant Canada pavilion support staff, and 22 Canada pavilion participants belonging to underrepresented groups,” the response said, adding that funding was provided for nine representatives from national Indigenous organizations to attend.
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“Delegates other than those outlined above were responsible for their own travel expenses.”
The response didn’t specify how many federal employees attended the conference, but a review of Canada’s delegate lists suggests around 140 people.
Among them were Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, four MPs, three senators, scores of deputy ministers and executives from a variety of government agencies and departments, including Environment Canada, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Space Agency, ministerial staffers, and ambassadors and diplomatic staff.
Also attending the conference was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who brought an entourage of 18 staffers, deputy ministers and protection detail.
Inquires seeking exact numbers of federal employees who attended COP28 were made with Environment Canada.
The order paper response provided few details on the government’s carbon footprint of their COP28 delegation, mentioning that emissions data is maintained through the government’s centralized travel booking service and that such information is not tracked in any government database.
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“This data is not disaggregated by individual and does not includes ministerial travel, which is not booked through the centralized system,” the response said, adding that Environment Canada purchases carbon offset credits in bulk rather than specifically for each instance of travel.
A total of 159 hotel rooms were booked across 21 properties, with most staying at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Dubai’s Investment Park, just across the highway from the COP28 venues at Dubai’s Expo City neighbourhood.
A total of 171 nights were booked across 40 rooms at that hotel, totalling $204,022.03.
Fifty-five rooms were also booked for 15 nights at the nearby Premier Inn, racking up a $195,462.12 bill.
The balance of the hotels largely saw just a handful of booked rooms, with 13 at the Amwaj Rotana Jumeirah Beach Hotel, and 10 at the Pullman Dubai Jumeirah Lakes Towers.
While most rooms ranged from $200 to $400 per night, the most expensive room booked was a single night at the Tryp by Windham Dubai, costing $1,821.90.
An Environment Canada spokesperson confirmed that number was a clerical error, and that the charge was for a seven-night stay at the hotel, not a single night.
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Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, questioned the environmental stewardship of spending over a million dollars to facilitate 633 people boarding flights to Dubai.
“Nothing screams fighting climate change like flying around the world, burning through jet fuel and taxpayers’ cash,” he told the National Post.
“This fits into a bigger problem with this government where politicians and bureaucrats are constantly jetting off to fancy conferences and sticking struggling taxpayers with the big bill.”
Canada’s COP28 bill came in a little under what Rideau Hall spent to send Governor General Mary Simon and 29 passengers for a week-long visit to Dubai and the Middle East in 2022 aboard a government VIP aircraft.
Nearly $100,000 of that trip’s $1.3 million price tag went toward in-flight catering costs, with passengers enjoying beef wellington, carpaccio and over $500 for a redacted quantity of lemons and limes.
National Post
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