The Yellowstone Club near Big Sky, Mont., north of Yellowstone National Park. Big Sky’s skiing and snowboarding trails attract wealthy tourists from around the world. (Erik Peterson/AP)
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Easter weekend vacation in Montana cost taxpayers nearly a quarter of a million dollars, CBC News has learned — far more than the sum reported to Parliament.
The price tag for the April 6-10 trip comes to more than $228,839, once the costs carried by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Privy Council Office and the RCMP are included.
That sum does not include the regular salaries of the RCMP officers tasked with protecting the prime minister, the Royal Canadian Air Force aircrew or the Privy Council official who normally accompanies the prime minister with the equipment needed to communicate securely.
That price tag is far higher than the figure the government reported to Parliament two weeks ago. In answer to a question placed on the order paper by Conservative MP Luc Berthold, the government disclosed $23,846 in spending on the trip by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Privy Council.
That lower figure did not include the $204,993 the RCMP spent on overtime and costs such as accommodations, meals, incidentals and travel associated with Trudeau’s holiday. That spending was revealed only this week, in response to a question to the police force from CBC News.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and son Xavier depart New Delhi, India on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The government’s answers reveal little about where exactly Trudeau went and what he did during his long weekend in Montana.
A U.S. Secret Service motorcade
Flight trackers showed that the prime minister’s plane landed in Bozeman, Mont., the evening of April 6 and returned to Ottawa the evening of April 10.
In his filings with the ethics commissioner’s office, Trudeau declared a “ground security motorcade” during a “private visit in Big Sky, Montana” as a gift from the U.S. Secret Service.
Driving from Bozeman to Big Sky takes about an hour.
Big Sky’s skiing and snowboarding trails draw the rich and famous from around the world.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, said the Secret Service does not consider the motorcade as a gift.
“Federal law mandates that the United States Secret Service provide protection to any heads of state while on U.S. soil,” he wrote in an email response. “This protection is provided 24 hours a day by highly trained federal law enforcement agents and mission support teams. While traveling through the United States, visiting heads of state are also provided secure motorcade transportation in specialized government vehicles.”
Guglielmi said information on the cost of the protection the Secret Service provided Trudeau was not readily available.
Trudeau’s office refused to answer further questions regarding the trip, such as where he stayed in Montana, whether he paid for his accommodations, whether he visited anyone and who accompanied him there. It also refused to explain why the RCMP costs weren’t disclosed when the government answered Berthold’s question.
“As per long-standing government policy and for security reasons, the prime minister must travel on government aircraft, whether he is on official or personal business,” Alison Murphy, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, wrote in an e-mail response.
“As was the case with previous prime ministers, when travelling for personal reasons, the prime minister and any guests travelling with him reimburse an equivalent commercial airfare.”
Previous travel controversies
Trudeau has run into controversy in the past over vacations with his family outside Canada. A trip to visit the Aga Khan on an island in the Bahamas during the 2016/17 Christmas break resulted in a bill to taxpayers of $271,000 and a finding from Canada’s ethics commissioner that he had breached government ethics rules.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with the Aga Khan on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
A trip from Dec. 26 to Jan. 4 this year to an exclusive estate in Jamaica cost taxpayers at least $162,000. The wealthy owner of the Prospect estate, Peter Green, is a long-time friend of the Trudeau family who has also donated to the Trudeau Foundation.
Melanie Rushworth, director of communications for the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner’s office, said the office doesn’t approve vacations of elected officials and “would be involved only when the travel or stay could be considered a gift under the Conflict of Interest Act or the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons.”
As is often the case with prime ministerial travel, the RCMP recorded the biggest tab for the Montana trip. In addition to the regular salaries of officers charged with protecting the prime minister and his family, the trip cost the police force $58,681 in overtime and $146,312 in miscellaneous travel costs.
The expenses listed in the answer to the order paper question for the Canadian Armed Forces include $2,752 for aircrew accommodations, $1,756 for per diems and $13,396 for other expenses, including aviation fuel, catering, handling and ground transportation.
The Privy Council incurred the lowest costs — $1,581 for accommodations, $1,226 for per diems, $1,667 for airfare, $26.72 for other expenses and $1,438 for other transportation.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
