Warning from me – I will get heated in this entry and some curses words will pop up. 

Did you get my tone from my title?  Can you see why I am a little frustrated that our hard working tax dollars are paying for a vacation for two obscenely rich and, so-called, noble people, who the majority of people could gives two shits about?  You can’t afford it?  Well, here is my rant.

Ok.  I am not saying they are bad people.  I don’t know them personally.  Would I, in the position as Prince of Whatever, spend some time abroad?  Sure.  Would I accept this trip for free?  Let me interject a quick question before I answer that….. What is my net worth?  How about a few hundred million?  Now, I can answer this question.  With a clear conscience, I can honestly say that I would pay my own way.

So, the essence of my rant is this … the Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall visited our vast country earlier this month.  YIPPEEE!  The cost of this trip was $2.57M!!  Let’s breakout where our tax dollars went for this little holiday: 

–          $138,000 for the 10-night, 11-day stay for hotel rooms for the royal couple and their entourage.  Ok.  Not too bad here.  You have to have a nice place to sleep.  Entourage quantity is unknown.  Estimated numbers for a 10night stay – @ $500 a night, that averages to 27 people.  Why so many?      

–          $50,000 to design a website specifically for the visit.  Are you joking?  This is the website.  http://www.royalvisit.gc.ca/index-eng.cfm

–          $41,000 for programs and luggage tags printed for the visit.

–          $320,000 for communications and media staff.

–          $630,000 to pay the salaries for the royal visit team..

–          $500,000 allocation for the costs of having Prince Charles attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa.  They walked around and planted a tree.  La-dee-da!

 pecial thanks to Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin.

Here are some excerpts from a Toronto Sun article: 

Deirdra McCracken, the director of communications for Heritage Minister James Moore, says the visit was planned “with the current economic situation in mind” and that all “cost savings were examined where possible.”

Deirdra and Moore should be fired!

Some quotes from NDP MP Pat Martin were good too.  “This is as good an argument as I have ever heard for a republic of Canada,” said NDP MP Pat Martin. “It’s time for us to get rid of the monarchy and grow up.”  “In light of the current fiscal situation of this government, with us running the biggest structural deficit in history, a visit from the Queen is a cost we just can’t bear,” Martin said. “We should consider doing this by conference call or e-mail, it would be a lot cheaper.”

Agreed Pat!  Or how about this – pay your own way. 

The government estimates a proposed visit to Canada in June-July 2010 by the Queen would cost the public purse another $3.64 million.

SAY WHAT?!?

 

Disclaimer.  This entry is without prejudice and is only the opinion of the blog author.