Former Ambassador to China Says Guilbeault’s $140,000 China Visit Had ‘Bloated’ Delegation

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Nov. 27, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

A $140,000 expenditure for a delegation’s two-day trip to China in August led by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is facing criticism from Canada’s former ambassador to the country.

“Delegation looks bloated, top-heavy for a brief, inconsequential vanity-fest in Beijing. Possibly a goodbye gift for senior political staff,” David Mulroney, who was Canada’s ambassador to China between 2009 and 2012, wrote in a Dec. 13 post on X.

Mr. Guilbeault led a seven-person delegation to China from Aug. 26–31 to participate in the annual general meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), a high-level advisory body with a mandate to conduct research and provide policy recommendations to Chinese authorities on environment and development.

The costs of the delegation were revealed in a Parliamentary response to an Oct. 24 order paper question filed by Conservative MP Damien Kurek. The document states the estimated total cost of the delegation is $140,073.60, covering airfare, accommodation, meals, and other incidentals.

Apart from Mr. Guilbeault, the delegation included assistant deputy minister Sandra McCardell, climate change ambassador Catherine Stewart, ambassador to China Jennifer May, Environment department staffers Gail Cockburn and Pamela Bowles, Guilbeault’s chief of staff Dominic Cormier, chief political adviser Eddy Perez, and operations director Elena Mitchell.

Mr. Guilbeault’s expenses amounted to $17,359.97, covering $14,825.06 for airfare, $1,339.71 for accommodation, and $1,195.20 for meals and incidentals. Per-person costs for other members of the delegation varied, ranging from $10,158.43 to $18,917.78. Pending claims still exist for some of Ms. Cockburn’s travel expenses, the document indicates.

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Support costs by Global Affairs Canada for the trip were budgeted at $35,812.

The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Guilbeault for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Spending Concerns

In an official release about the delegation’s visit to China, Environment and Climate Change Canada highlighted the “triple crisis” of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss the world is facing. The statement noted that the CCICED would serve as an opportunity for Mr. Guilbeault to “spur action on a number of environmental issues.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has raised concerns about the government’s approach to addressing climate change.

“How does the government fight climate change? Burn through jet fuel and taxpayers’ cash,” CTF federal director Franco Terrazzano wrote in a Dec. 13 post on X.

This isn’t the first time the environment minister has led a delegation facing accusations of excessive spending. During a United Nations climate change conference in Egypt last November, Canadian delegates stayed at a luxury resort, costing more than $1 million, as revealed by Environment and Climate Change Canada in response to an inquiry of ministry made by Tory MP Gérard Deltell.

The resort, Domina Coral Bay Hotel, cost Canadian taxpayers $782,039.15, plus an additional US$21,963.32, for 106 rooms, for a total of 113 government delegates. The more than $811,000 grand total represented the largest single expenditure of the climate change conference. The hotel boasts 13 bars, a private beach, eight swimming pools, “theme parties,” three buffet restaurants, a variety of spa treatments, camel rides, and a disco club.

Green Industry

In addition to the costs, Mr. Kurek also sought details about the China meetings attended by each delegation member.

Mr. Guilbeault began his trip in Beijing with an Aug. 28 meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Huang Runqiu, and other CCICED executive members. The Parliamentary document characterized the purpose of this meeting as an opportunity to “discuss priority areas for Canada and China bilateral relations on the environment and climate change.”

The CCICED annual general meeting opened with a roundtable aimed at exploring the relationship between the green industry and economic development. The Canadian delegation also met with China’s special envoy for climate change, Xie Zhenhua, to “exchange ideas on carbon markets and carbon pricing.”

The CCICED, established by the Chinese regime in 1992 with the help of the former Canadian International Development Agency, has openly praised Chinese leader Xi Jinping on its website, promoting his geopolitical schemes such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

Marnie Cathcart and Noé Chartier contributed to this report.