This post has nothing to do with PM Martin going to visit Muammar Gaddafi, which is obviously ridiculous. Instead I wanted to comment on this (courtesy of the National Post):
...PMO spokeswoman Melanie Gruer went to great lengths to explain that the Prime Minister is paying the government the equivalent commercial value of roundtrip airline tickets not only for all the members of his family and their girlfriends but for himself, as well. Ms. Gruer said Mr. Martin will pay $2,000 per person. She added that the Prime Minister decided to pay his own airfare “to err on the side of caution” and noted that for security reasons he is not allowed to fly commercially. “He has a right to have a vacation wherever he chooses,” she said. “He has to get to that part of the world anyway. Rather than just pay what it costs to go from Libya to Morroco, he’s going to pay the whole nine yards.”
But critics were quick to point out that Canadians have no idea whether Martin is paying the entire freight for his family vacation because they do not know the true costs of flying the Challenger jet overseas.
For the security of the Prime Minister we have a rule that he should not fly on a commercial flight. Beyond how entirely reasonable that proposition is, how embarrasing would it be for Canadians if our Prime Minister flew such a way. And if we felt he had to fly commercial we would say "how much taxpayer's dollars is the Prime Minister waisting flying Air Canada when he could fly cheaper on JetsGo or WestJet?"
“How much are Canadians subsidizing this trip? Canadian taxpayers should not be subsidizing vacations for any politicians in this country.”
As long as we have our self-respect and the safety of our leaders in mind, yes, would should be subsidizing vacations. PM Martin is above board on this one, evidenced by his paying $2,000 per person on the flights. Let's worry about the more important stuff, like say, our Prime Minister visiting a (maybe former) terrorist who has not been brought to justice for his crimes.
