Taxpayers paid about $55,000 per year on groceries for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s household, according to an access to information and privacy request obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF). .“This is a gaping policy hole that the government needs to fix right now,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano in a Thursday statement. .“At the very least, a prime minister’s household expenses should be posted online with an explanation of what is being spent for official government business and what is being spent for personal grocery bills for the prime minister.” .Documents obtained by the CTF covering household expenses of Trudeau and former prime minister Stephen Harper show an average of $54,494 annually billed to taxpayers. This works out to about $1,048 per week. .These documents include hundreds of pages of line-item expenses dating back to 2007. The Privy Council Office said records on household expenses were not kept prior to 2006. .Net grocery bills for Harper’s family cost people $417,745, averaging $52,218 per year between 2007 and 2015. Un-reimbursed expenses were the highest in 2013, hitting $58,879. .Household expenses for Trudeau’s family was $345,230, averaging $57,538 per year between 2015 and March. The costliest year for him was 2022, reaching $76,213. .Despite heavy redactions and detailed descriptions not given until 2009, expense lists for the prime ministers show staff did not travel far from the official residences to purchase groceries..Grocery items were split between the Loblaws, Metro and, Farmboy in Vanier; smaller specialty stores such as Saslove’s Meat Market, Adonis Mediterranean Market, La Bottega Nicastro Fine Foods, and the House of Cheese; and routine purchases from Cadmans Montreal Bagels..Harper’s records show six trips to the Beer Store and 26 purchases at Ontario alcohol stores. Trudeau’s household expensed no items from the Beer Store and two alcohol store purchases. .Prime ministers do not shop for or prepare their own meals, relying on kitchen staff overseen by a household chef..Trudeau recruited Montreal chef Chanthy Yen to work for him in 2021. .While the prime minister did not move into 24 Sussex Drive, the kitchens are used daily to prepare his family’s meals. Once prepared, the meals are transported by a courier about one kilometre away to his current residence, Rideau Cottage. .Terrazzano said a large sum of money was spent for years on groceries while people cannot receive straight answers on what the prime ministers’ expenses were. .“Trudeau must make it mandatory for prime ministers to post their household expenses online and for all family grocery bills to be paid for personally,” he said. .This data was revealed after inflation in Canada went up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis in September, down from a 7% in August, according to Wednesday data from Statistics Canada. .READ MORE: Inflation in Canada falls to 6.9% in September.Grocery store item prices grew by 11.4% in September, rising at the fastest pace since 1981. Grocery items increased because of unfavourable weather, higher prices for important inputs such as fertilizer and natural gas, and geopolitical instability related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine..The food item Canadians saw the largest price increase in was bakery products at 14.8%. This was followed by fresh vegetables (11.8%), dairy products (9.7%), and meat (7.6%).
