Bloc Québécois calls Governor General’s office a ‘circus’ after $88k clothing bill

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OTTAWA – Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet reiterated his call to abolish Canada’s Governor General after learning the office had spent $88,000 on clothing since 2017, describing the office as a costly “circus.”

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Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Blanchet had harsh words for the office of the King’s representative in Canada, which he has repeatedly called to be abolished over several spending controversies.

“Eventually comes a point where it’s just too much,” Blanchet asked in a scrum before question period. “Where will this stop?”

“This institution is very, very expensive, and is administrated without a shred of good judgment. This is one more reason for which we should end the circus of the Canadian monarchy,” he added.

On Wednesday, the National Post reported that governors general Julie Payette and Mary Simon had spent over a combined $88,000 on clothing they got to keep, with public coffers footing the bill for a range of items, from ceremonial clothing to a $450 “ecru hat” and $20 T-shirts.

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While many of the items were worn for specific ceremonies connected to the Governor General’s role, many others appear to be regular, day-to-day attire such as dress pants, sweaters, shirts and T-shirts.

For example, Payette expensed several T-shirts, shoes, sweaters, a $680 “top,” and dress pants ranging from $323 to $590 within months of her appointment in 2017.

Her spokesperson said Wednesday the clothes were always related to her functions.

Simon also expensed dozens of items within weeks of her appointment in July 2021, such as pants, dresses, shoes, jackets and a $160 scarf.

In the House of Commons, Bloc MP Julie Vignola questioned why taxpayers were paying for the clothing for a person who makes over $343,000 per year.

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Governors general can dress as they want. But at the salary they make, can’t they pay for their own clothes?

Bloc Québécois MP Julie Vignola

“Governors general can dress as they want. But at the salary they make, can’t they pay for their own clothes?” she asked the Liberals.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez responded, “We know that many Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, and people expect that we manage their money (responsibly), and that includes MPs, senators, the government and the Governor General.”

On Wednesday, the Office of the Secretariat of the Governor General (OSGG) said that a governor general is allowed to expense up to $130,000 in clothing over their five-year mandate, starting at $60,000 in their first year alone. Neither Simon nor Payette got close to that total amount.

But Blanchet took offence to even that allowance, saying that it was not up to taxpayers to be funding a governor general’s clothing.

“The allowance doesn’t have its place. The institution doesn’t have its place anymore,” Blanchet said.

Conservative MP Kelly McCauley on Wednesday said the fact that Canadians were footing the bill for what appeared to be day-to-day work attire for Simon and Payette was “obscene.”