WARMINGTON: Mark Carney turning blind eye to Canada by vacationing now
· Toronto Sun
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As Canada burns and bleeds jobs, Mark Carney fiddles three hours from Rome.
There are plenty of coveted Canadian summer vacation spots, but the prime minister is in luxurious Tuscany, Italy, instead.
Meanwhile, the residents and firefighters dealing with active and seemingly out-of-control forest fires here get no such vacation getaway. Nor do those standing in lines at food banks. These lines may soon be growing. No fancy pasta dishes for them. Let them eat Kraft dinner.
Of course, don’t forget the news last week that the 80-year-old former Clarkson refinery in Mississauga, now known as the Petro-Canada oil and lubricant division, will be “retired” by its swimming-in-profit American owner and Texas-based HF Sinclair Corporation, which could cost at least 250 direct jobs.
Canada losing jobs while PM vacays in Italy
“This is a reckless decision made in a Dallas boardroom by people who will never have to look these workers in the eye,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne. “We are about to hand control of that supply to producers in other countries at the exact moment governments here are telling us supply chain security matters.”
Producing 15,600 barrels per day of engine oils, hydraulic fluids and industrial lubricants will likely be produced after 2027 in HF Sinclair’s refinery in Tulsa, Okla.
The same sort of situation is happening in Oakville as Algonquin Power’s head office is being moved to Chicago.
Meanwhile, the closest that some fellow Canadians can get to going to Tuscany is down to Little Italy at Clinton and College Sts.
Anybody ask Carney about it? He’s is the real Italy. As the Sun ‘s Bryan Passifiume reported Monday , the PMO sent out this email to the parliamentary gallery members: “During this period, he is in close contact with his team and officials on several priorities, including the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade negotiations.”
The PM is having his cake and eating it, too. But nothing to see here, says the PMO.
“All relevant rules have been followed and will be followed at all times, in consultation with the Ethics Commissioner, who did not identify any concerns or inconsistencies with the Prime Minister’s obligations,” it said.
In addition to the optics, can this, and the crucial trade talks with the United States, be effectively managed from Italy?
Who did Integrity Commissioner clear Carney to see?
The PMO and the integrity commissioner were asked where the PM is staying in Tuscany — a hotel or a private residence? And who is he meeting while there? The New York Times reported in 2021 that Brookfield Company CEO Bruce Flatt has a residence in Tuscany. Could Carney, who was the Brookfield Assets Chair before becoming PM, end up seeing his old pal on this trip?
What was Integrity Commissioner Konrad Von Finckenstein asked by the PMO to review? If it’s not a visit with a former co-worker, what was it? Should the public not know?
It hearkens back to when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went on a similar vacation to the Aga Khan’s private, Bell Island in the Bahamas in 2016, where it was later determined that four federal conflict of interest sections had been violated.
No one is suggesting, or has suggested there is any violation in 2026. Just asking obvious questions the prime minister’s people were expecting — hence mentioning the pre-approval declaration in their note to reporters.
It’s not like this prime minister doesn’t spend taxpayer money on travel. He does. As Passifiume reported in July about a November trip to South Africa and United Arab Emirates , Canada’s CANFORCE ONE departed Ottawa for a week-long trip to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit that included meals that “cost $159,781.24” for “a choice between Italian sausage and penne pasta in white wine tomato sauce, or chicken chasseur with bacon and mushroom sauce, served with mashed potato and green beans.”
During another part of the journey, “passengers could choose between chicken stuffed with turkey bacon or Chilean sea bass with steamed veg and roasted sweet potatoes.”
All courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer.
Like the last one, this prime minister and those close to him seem so out of touch with the day-to-day reality of regular Canadians who are struggling to put food on their own tables, while also paying for the PM’s fine dining and holidays in comfort and style and in fancy places away from Canada.
Haliburton is a nice place to go in the summer, and so is Fernie, B.C., Shediac, B.C. or Lethbridge, Alta., or the lake district north of Winnipeg. Instead, the Canadian Challenger jet was sitting on the tarmac in Grosseto in Tuscany.
Grosseto is described as being “renowned for its rich history, stunning landscapes, and vibrant local culture” and “offers a unique blend of historical charm and modern amenities” including fine dining and “130 km of coastline with beaches, pinewoods and rocky shores.”
Canada has beaches, pine trees and rocky shores, too. But the prime minister chose the Italian version.